As Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) publicly claim their dead, new research shows that many previously counted as civilians were in fact members of the terrorist organizations, undermining accusations that Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilians in Gaza.

Researchers monitoring the Hamas-run health ministry’s death reports told Fox News Digital that a growing number of «martyrs» were exposed as terrorists by their own groups such as Hamas, despite maintaining public identities as healthcare or media workers.

Gabriel Epstein, senior policy associate at Israel Policy Forum, told Fox News Digital that he has tracked multiple individuals named by Hamas and PIJ as martyrs killed in battle in Gaza who held positions in the health industry, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs.)

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Epstein found several individuals labeled as medical staff who are also members of terrorist groups. The most serious revelation from the martyr list is Fadi al-Wadiyya, a physiotherapist for Médecins sans frontières, who was killed by Israel Defense Forces in June 2024. MSF responded to the death, saying they were «outraged» and «strongly condemn[ed] the killing of our colleague.»

When the IDF claimed that al-Wadiyya was a member of PIJ, MSF said they had «no prior knowledge» of his «alleged involvement in military activities» and said they had «not received any formal explanation» of «the circumstances of his killing.»

In a Telegram account claiming to be the media reserve for the Al-Quds Brigades, a post mourning al-Wadiyya’s martyrdom on Feb. 24 lists the physiotherapist as an assistant to the military manufacturing unit of PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades.

Fox News Digital asked MSF whether they were aware of al-Wadiyya’s PIJ connections prior to the martyr announcement. A spokesperson said, «We would not knowingly employ people engaging in military activity» as it «would pose a danger to our staff and patients by compromising our neutrality.»

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Hamas terrorists march in Gaza during a parade. (Getty Images)

The spokesperson said that «MSF had no indication that Fadi Al Wadiya might have been involved in military activity of any kind prior to the Israeli authorities’ online posts in June 2024. In the immediate aftermath of Al-Wadiya’s killing, we asked for explanations from the Israeli authorities, but never received an official response. If the Israeli authorities were aware of Al-Wadiya’s links with militant activities, they never shared this info with us until after he was killed. To this day, the only information they shared and that we are aware of is what was shared through public social media posts.»

The IDF banned MSF operations in Gaza from the beginning of March because the organization refused to provide a list of its Palestinian employees. In response to Fox News Digital’s questions about whether they would consider providing this list to the IDF presently, MSF’s spokesperson said, «We did not share our staff lists with Israel because we did not receive concrete assurances to ensure the safety of our staff or the independent management of our operations. This is a place where humanitarian workers have frequently been detained, attacked, and killed. We have a responsibility to protect our colleagues from harm.»

Epstein shared several other cases of healthcare workers who played prominent roles in terror groups.

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Ambulances carrying patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahya, Gaza City. Oct. 12, 2024. (Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Mohammed Akram Abdullah al-Kafarna was mourned by the Palestinian Nursing and Midwifery Association’s Facebook page as the nursing supervisor at Kamal Adwan Hospital and by the Institute for Palestine Studies as head of the Gaza nursing system. A Telegram account that lists members of Hamas’ best-outfitted Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, al-Kafarna is described as one of Beit Hanoun’s «Qassam Martyrs.»

Ayman Suleiman Aliyan Abu Tayr was listed as martyred in Khan Younis in June 2025. The Institute for Palestine Studies labels him as a nurse and head of the clinical nutrition department at Nasser Hospital. According to a Telegram account linked to PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Tayr was a Commander in the Central Operations Unit of the Al-Quds Brigades.

Jaber Abdulhamid Diab Mohammedin was mourned on the Palestinian Ministry of Health General Directorate of Nursing’s Facebook page as an Intensive Care Unit nurse at the Al-Rantisi Specialized Children’s Hospital. A Telegram account linked to the Islamic Jihad Movement lists Mohammedin as a commander in the military manufacturing unit of the PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigade.

Nidal Jaber Abdulfattah al-Najjar is labeled as an administrator at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, according to the Institute for Palestine Studies, while a mourner on Facebook noted that he worked in the Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. He is labeled on a Telegram account emblazoned with Hamas’ distinctive red triangle as a martyr commander of Hamas’ Al-Radwan Battalion.

IDF forces are seen operating in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

Salo Aizenberg, director of media watchdog group HonestReporting, told Fox News Digital that he is tracking at least 10 «virtually indisputable» examples of journalists who are actually combatants, working with Hamas and other terrorist groups.

David Adesnik, vice president of research for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that he has also been tracking the disclosures. «With PIJ, the number of commanders who operated with civilian cover is striking,» Adesnik said. «We’re at a point where the evidence indicates that this duplicity was a routine part of a strategy to infiltrate civilian organization, especially humanitarian ones. This provides access and protection while ensuring outrage when these supposed humanitarians are killed.»

Adesnik said he believes it «likely that Hamas also employed this strategy in a systematic way, but right now we mainly have the PIJ disclosures. Given that Hamas is many times larger, if it were to disclose this kind of information, the effects could easily ripple across the humanitarian sector in Gaza.»

Among the cases Aizenberg is tracking are media workers. He said that his list is «based solely on admissions by those groups and other Gazan sources,» and «does not include the many additional examples identified through Israeli evidence.»

Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas terror leader who was killed by the IDF, waves to a crowd in Gaza. (Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Though the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) cites Yacoup Al-Borsch as a journalist and the executive director of Namaa Radio, Aizenberg has found «numerous social media posts and martyr notices identifying him as a fighter and ‘mujahid.’» This includes a Facebook post from an account affiliated with the Al-Omari Mosque in Jabalia.

Ahmed Abu Sharia was a freelancer who worked for outlets like Iranian Tasnim News Agency, the CPJ says. According to the «official» Telegram site of the Mujahideen Brigades, the Palestinian Mujahideen movement’s military wing, he was also a member of the Mujahideen Brigades.

Rizq Abu Shakian was a «media worker and administrator for the pro-Hamas Palestine Now Agency,» according to CPJ. Shakian also appears in Hamas uniform on a Telegram site that shares images of Palestinian martyrs. According to Aizenberg’s research, he was a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades.

In response to questions about whether CPJ would update listings of journalists who have been claimed as terror affiliates, the group directed Fox News Digital to its policy for updating listings, which states, «CPJ has a long-standing policy of updating its data and the accompanying narrative accounts without issuing formal corrections as new information becomes available over time. In certain cases, a record may be removed from public view when new information leads CPJ to determine that a case falls outside its mandate or for security concerns, such as the safety of the journalist and their family.  CPJ will publicly record when it has removed a journalist from the database for a reason outside of security concerns. «

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As the shaky ceasefire in Gaza continues, analysts say they continue to place value in closely examining the war’s casualties. Epstein said that «reviewing cases of militants who held dual civilian roles in key sectors like media, healthcare and education is important for the historical record and underscores the information limitations press, government, and analysts face in real time during conflict.» He said that «over time, militant identification can give a sense of just how deep Hamas, PIJ and other militant groups’ hold over key sectors in Gaza was.»

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., survived a key test vote on Sunday on his way to becoming the next Homeland Security chief. 

Mullin, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to be the next Department of Homeland Security secretary, still has one more vote to go, and likely won’t be confirmed until Monday evening.

Should he survive the final confirmation vote on Monday, he will replace DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who Trump fired following explosive hearings on the Hill and after the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during immigration operations in Minnesota. 

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Sunday’s test vote, which was largely party-line save for Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who was the key vote to move his colleague out of committee earlier in the week, comes after his explosive confirmation hearing earlier in the week.

Mullin was grilled by both Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who Mullin once called a «snake» and charged that his 2017 assault was «justified.» During the hearing, Mullin didn’t back down from his prior remarks. 

«I’m not perfect. I don’t claim to be perfect,» Mullin said. «I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you.»

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Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.  (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

If successful on Monday, Mullin will take the reins of an agency that is currently shut down. Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have blocked DHS funding five times in their quest to get stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mullin appeared amicable to making changes at the agency during his hearing. 

Congressional Democrats have demanded, among other things, that ICE agents get judicial warrants to enter a home or business in the field rather than administrative warrants. And when asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., whether he would commit to requiring judicial warrants for ICE agents to search homes and businesses, Mullin appeared to give ground to the demand. 

«Judicial warrants will be used to go into houses, into place of businesses, unless we’re pursuing someone that enters in that place,» Mullin said. «I have not mixed words with that, and I haven’t changed my opinion about that.»

Meanwhile, what was a shutdown stalemate thawed over earlier this week, when Senate Democrats made a counter offer of DHS demands to the White House after over two weeks of radio silence. 

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026.  (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

That spurred back-to-back meetings on the Hill, with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., along with border czar Tom Homan, sitting down with a cohort of Senate Democrats. A third meeting was slated for Saturday, but was canceled at the last minute. 

The shutdown is currently on its way to becoming the longest in history, unless either side can lock in a deal to fund the agency. Mullin’s nomination to lead DHS has so far not swayed Senate Democrats, either, despite their demands the Noem be booted. 

Whether both sides meet again over the weekend remains in the air.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., accused Senate Democrats of believing that the shutdown «politically good for them.» 

«It’s not politically good for anybody to have literally tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people out of work and important functions of our government not being carried out on a daily basis and functions that are important to our homeland security and our national security,» Thune said.

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