German newspapers accuse global news outlets of using staged photos from Gaza

Amid growing international condemnation of Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reports from leading German newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bild — both cited by the Foreign Ministry and President Isaac Herzog today — question the authenticity of images circulating from the war-torn Strip.

In a report on Sunday, Süddeutsche Zeitung cited media sources and Gerhard Paul, a photography expert who has studied images from Israel and Gaza for 25 years, to argue that Hamas propaganda and biased reporting shape much of the photo coverage coming out of Gaza.

The report alleged that some photos showing Gazans with empty pots were not taken at food distribution centers, as widely assumed and stated, but were instead staged in front of photographers to create the illusion of desperation. Included in the article was a widely shared photo of Gaza-based photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha, a freelancer commissioned by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, taking pictures of children holding pots and pans — not while waiting at a food distribution center.

Beware of fake news.

A joint investigation by @SZ and @BILD reveals how Hamas uses “Pallywood”, staged or selectively framed media, to manipulate global opinion.

At the center is Anas Zayed Fteiha, a Palestinian photographer for Anadolu and an open Israel- and Jew-hater,… pic.twitter.com/ZwAea0sBeK

— Israel ישראל (@Israel) August 5, 2025

Journalist Christopher Resch of Reporters Without Borders told the paper that “little gets past Hamas” of what reporters are able to share from the ground — while adding that photographers providing subjects with certain instructions to frame an image is an acceptable practice “so long as it roughly reflects reality.”

Following the Süddeutsche Zeitung report, Bild on Tuesday published an investigation focused on the work of Fteiha — accusing him of deliberately using staged or misleading images to amplify the narrative of Israeli-caused suffering, and citing content from his personal social media accounts as evidence of anti-Israel bias.

In addition to the staged image reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bild claimed that Fteiha — whose work has been published by outlets including CNN, the BBC and Bild itself — had recently shared images of women and children waving empty pots and pans at an unspecified distribution site, despite them receiving food shortly thereafter. According to the report, while other photographers at the same site shared photos of mostly adult male Gazans calmly receiving meals, Fteiha deliberately aimed to depict a food shortage. When questioned by Bild, he did not provide the outlet with the images he took at the scene or respond to requests for comment.

In response to the allegations, the German Press Agency and Agence France-Presse told Bild they would no longer work with Fteiha and stressed their careful vetting of photographers and their reputations, while Reuters stated that its photos “meet the standards of accuracy, independence, and impartiality.”

Some cited in the reports added that further complicating matters is the fact that Israel currently does not permit foreign journalists to enter Gaza independently, except through rare, IDF-guided visits — making independent coverage extremely difficult. The military has said the current policy aims to protect both photographers and troops.