On February 15, 2024, Israeli forces arrested Palestinian freelance journalist Amr Abu Raida, who contributes to the Ramallah-based privately owned news agency Quds News Network, the local newspaper Al-Hadath, and the Qatari-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera, when they stormed Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s city of Khan Yunis.
Abu Raida reported on the situation in Khan Yunis and the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes. On his personal Instagram account, which has over 75,000 followers, Abu Raida also posted videos of mass gravesfound near Nasser Hospital and videos of casualties caused by Israeli airstrikes.
In a statement on February 15, 2024, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari accused Abu Raida of membership in the militant group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and of firing shells from the hospital.
On September 11, 2024, the Israeli broadcaster Kan 11 reported that Abu Raida had confessed during an interrogation to belonging to PFLP and ambushing Israeli security forces in Khan Yunis. Kan 11 reported that “the IDF had images of Abu Raida firing at an Israeli tank near Nir Oz kibbutz during the October 7 Hamas attack,” but the images were not broadcast.
Palestinian freelance journalist Mohammed Salama, who worked with Abu Raida in Nasser Hospital, rejected the allegations. “We were together inside the hospital and no shells ever came out of the hospital, nor did Amr ever participate or contribute to that from anywhere because we were working together on the media coverage of events,” he told CPJ via messaging app. Abu Raida’s sister, Hanan Abu Raida, told CPJ via messaging app, “I am ready to challenge Israel regarding all the accusations against my brother. And I wonder, if my brother did any of the things he was accused of, how come they haven’t made it public?,” she told CPJ via messaging app on September 13, 2024.
Hanan Abu Raida told CPJ on October 29, 2024 that her brother was held in Eshel Prison in central Israel. In March 2026, she said her brother was detained in Ramon/Ganot Prison, Section 4. She said that, according to his lawyer, no formal indictment has been filed against him.
Hanan Abu Raida told CPJ her brother has appeared before court 21 times since his arrest for sessions that last about two minutes. His detention was extended to June 2, 2026 during his last court session on April 20.
His lawyer has visited him twice and sees him briefly during court sessions and has recently begun delivering messages from his family.
On conditions of imprisonment, Hanan Abu Raida said that the lawyer reports that journalist was subjected to what was described as torture in 2025, leading to lung injuries, over which a complaint has been filed. She said that he also suffers from weak eyesight and has had a respiratory condition since birth.
Additionally, Abu Raida said that her brother has contracted scabies, which is reportedly spreading among prisoners.
CPJ emailed the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) for comment on Abu Raida’s imprisonment conditions and the status of the filed complaint but have not received a response at the time of publishing.