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Thomas Bordeaux

@thomasbordeaux.bsky.social
433 followers 371 following 42 posts

Visual Investigations Reporter @CNN.com Previously: Member @bellingcat.com Global Authentication Project DM's open, Signal: thomas.411

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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Over the summer, dozens of people went missing at Gaza’s Zikim crossing, where Israeli forces routinely gunned down Palestinian aid seekers. We’ve now found evidence suggesting they bulldozed some of the people they killed into shallow, unmarked graves.
cnn.com
Bulldozed corpses and unmarked graves, CNN investigates the fate of Gaza’s missing aid seekers | CNN
Ammar Wadi knew he was risking his life when he set out to get a bag of flour for his family from an aid truck near the Zikim crossing into Gaza in June.
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Avery Schmitz @averyschmitz.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
NEW: We tracked over 200 US military flights conducted in the Caribbean since mid-August by 83 separate aircraft, including intelligence-gathering planes and tankers used to refuel jets in midair With @natashabertrand.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/w...
cnn.com
Here’s what the US military has positioned in the Caribbean as Trump pressures Venezuela | CNN
The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months, conducting training missions off the coast of Venezuela, reopening a...
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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in Syria, many of the officials who enabled and enforced his brutal regime disappeared. Our reporting uncovers who they are, what they did and where they fled. nyti.ms/3J1W5Cs
nytimes.com
The Vanishing Act: How Assad’s Top Henchmen Fled Syria, and Justice
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
We searched near the flight paths (we had about a 10 minute range we knew the satellite image was taken in) not sure about a general moving objects tool, but some really impressive algorithms have been written for planes utilizing parallax ie: www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13...
mdpi.com
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
We split the individual Sentinel-2 bands out to animate the B-52 flying, but the two planes can also be seen here, appearing three times due to the red, green, and blue bands being captured separately.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Caught on satellite: a B-52 bomber flies above the Caribbean on October 15th, less than 150 miles from the Venezuelan coast. More on the escalating US military campaign here: www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/p...
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
This is an absolutely brilliant piece and well worth the read - "'I think the visual lexicon of open-source investigation is something that the Israelis have co-opted as a way to try to delegitimize [those investigations] and confuse,' said Elizabeth Breiner..."
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Giancarlo Fiorella @giancarlofiorella.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
I wrote about how vicarious trauma can find you when you least expect it, through two experiences that I've had while working with images as an open source researcher. Neither were graphic. Both had a serious impact on me. giancarlofiorella.com/2025/10/04/w...
giancarlofiorella.com
When Trauma Finds You
Sometimes, trauma finds you while you’re waiting for it, when your body is tense anticipating its appearance. Your guard is up. Somehow, you soften its blows. Sometimes, though, trauma finds …
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Reade Levinson @readelev.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
On Aug 25, Israeli defense forces attacked a Gaza hospital, killing our colleague Hussam al-Masri. We spent the last few weeks reviewing footage and interviewing witnesses. The visual evidence contradicts Israel’s official story. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
reuters.com
Visual evidence upends Israel’s official story for deadly attack on Gaza hospital
Israeli troops say they targeted a Hamas camera in an August strike, but a Reuters investigation found the device belonged to one of the news agency’s journalists. An Israeli official now says troops fired without required approval. The five journalists who died in the strike are among 200 killed by Israel that it has yet to fully explain.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Around the perimeter of Gaza City, rows of tents that were used for shelter have completely disappeared in just a matter of weeks - the displaced Palestinians living there have been forcibly displaced again.
Tent camps can be seen southeast of Gaza City on August 9, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC)In an image taken on September 5, 2025, they are no longer visible. (Planet Labs PBC)
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
The damage is particularly severe in al-Zeitoun and Jabalya - and the vast majority of it has been caused not by airstrikes or combat, but by the Israeli military slowly carrying out block-by-block demolitions with excavators and bulldozers.
Over 1,800 buildings damaged or destroyed in Gaza City in one month
Israel expanded operations to Gaza City in early August, destroying buildings with systematic bulldozing and airstrikes. Damage has been concentrated in the Zeitoun and Jabalya neighborhoods, with demolitions increasingly moving toward the center of Gaza City, according to CNN analysis of satellite imagery.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
We analysed satellite imagery over Gaza City in the last month and found that the Israeli military has damaged or destroyed at least 1800 buildings - the opening moves of its stated intention to invade and occupy the city. w/ Zeena Saifi
cnn.com
Satellite images reveal wide destruction in Gaza City as Israel steps up assault | CNN
In the weeks since Israel announced plans to take over Gaza City, its military has destroyed or damaged more than 1,800 buildings in and around the city, CNN analysis has found.
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Merlyn Thomas @merlynthomas.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
NEW: Israel struck Nasser Hospital at least 4 times in its attack which killed journalists, BBC Verify found. We found Israel hit two staircases in the first wave. Minutes later it struck one of the staircases twice more. @benedictgarman.com @sebkilli.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Israel struck Gaza's Nasser Hospital four times, analysis finds
New footage has revealed that two more strikes were carried out on hospital by Israel than initially reported.
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CNN @cnn.com · 28/08/2025
Israel has faced global condemnation for back-to-back strikes on the biggest hospital in southern Gaza this week, which killed at least 22 people, including health workers, emergency response crews and five journalists. cnn.it/462x8OS
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
The full article, written and researched by CNN's Lauren Kent, @gianlucamezzo.bsky.social, Sarah El Sirgany, Abeer Salman, and me, is here: www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/m...
cnn.com
New video reveals third strike in deadly ‘double-tap’ attack on Gaza hospital | CNN
Israel has faced global condemnation for back-to-back strikes on the biggest hospital in southern Gaza this week, which killed at least 22 people, including health workers, emergency response crews a...
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
The five journalists killed were Reuters contractor Al-Masri, freelance visual journalists Mariam Abu Dagga and Moath Abu Taha, who both worked with the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters throughout the war, freelance journalist Ahmed Abu Aziz, and Mohammad Salama, a cameraman for Al Jazeera in Gaza.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Combined, Israel's back-to-back strikes on Nasser Hospital killed at least 22 people, including health workers, emergency response crews, and five journalists.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
A satellite image taken by Planet Labs on August 22 shows more than a dozen combat vehicles, including tanks, at an IDF base 1.5 miles northeast of Nasser Hospital. Multiple IDF bases are further northeast. It is not clear whether the shells came from those nearby tanks or from another IDF position.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Video shows the projectiles that hit the hospital staircase were coming from the northeast and were consistent with tank shells, according to an analysis by @easybakeovensz.bsky.social, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Jenzen Jones, the director of Armament Research Services, also said that the two near-simultaneous shells seen in the new video are likely to be from “multi-purpose” tank guns, such as the Israeli M339 model.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
New video analysis reveals that the second “tap” the IDF fired at a group of first-responders and journalists on Monday was in fact two near-simultaneous tank rounds. "It’s hard to read too much into that, but it suggests a more carefully coordinated attack," said weapons expert N.R. Jenzen-Jones.
cnn.com
New video reveals third strike in deadly ‘double-tap’ attack on Gaza hospital | CNN
Israel has faced global condemnation for back-to-back strikes on the biggest hospital in southern Gaza this week, which killed at least 22 people, including health workers, emergency response crews a...
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Detainees inside Alligator Alcatraz told CNN about their experiences there, including relentless mosquitoes, open toilets, and lights kept on 24/7. Reporters haven't been allowed inside the prison since it opened, so we built a 3D model to take you inside — and hear from the detainees firsthand.
cnn.com
‘It’s a type of torture’: Hear what it’s like inside ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ | CNN Politics
CNN talked to immigrants being detained at the Florida facility and created a 3D model to explore what conditions are like inside. CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 08/07/2025
Armed officers, frequent use of force and people grabbed on the street or at their places of work. Working with @evidentmedia.org and @calmatters.org we have monitored the LA raids, discovering recurring trends and tactics used by officers. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/07...
bellingcat.com
Masked, Armed and Forceful: Finding Patterns in Los Angeles Immigration Raids - bellingcat
Bellingcat collected videos and images from recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, analysing trends and apparent tactics used by law enforcement.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
We’re waiting on post strike satellite imagery of Fordow, but one detail that I haven’t seen anywhere besides our reporting for CNN is that images taken before the strike suggest there may have been attempts to reinforce the tunnel entrances. w/ @isaacyeephoto.bsky.social @averyschmitz.bsky.social
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
The B-2s that were in Diego Garcia in April have since returned, as far as I'm aware - they're not in satellite imagery of the base anymore, though a few could fit in the hardened shelters. This group of B-2s is looking like it's headed to Guam for now.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
No, thank you!!
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
The US military is repositioning B-2 bombers as President Trump decides on US involvement in Israel’s attacks on Iran. HUGE shout out to @vcdgf555.bsky.social and @thenewarea51 on Twitter for being the first to share about these movements! www.cnn.com/2025/06/21/p...
cnn.com
US moves B-2 bombers as Trump weighs Iran options | CNN Politics
Multiple US B-2 bombers appear to have taken off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Friday night and are heading west, according to flight tracking data CNN has reviewed, as President Donald ...
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Katie Polglase @katiepolglase.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Investigating Israel's strikes on Iran and their impact on civilians. We cross referenced addresses of Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists from a public database with geolocated footage of strikes. @pallabimunsi.bsky.social & Oscar Featherstone edition.cnn.com/2025/06/19/w...
edition.cnn.com
Watch: CNN investigates Israel’s strikes on key Iranian officials — and their civilian toll | CNN
Israel’s strikes not only took out top Iranian leaders, they also caused civilian deaths. CNN’s Katie Polglase breaks down the human toll at the locations where top Iranian officials were killed.
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Avery Schmitz @averyschmitz.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
NEW: How structural flaws reduced a Dominican nightclub to rubble Watch our investigation of the Jet Set club collapse which killed over 230 people in April From @stepozzebon.bsky.social, @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social, Anyi Lizardo, Maddie Araujo, and me: youtu.be/H5UpgvxSc1A?...
youtu.be
CNN analysis explores cause of deadly Dominican nightclub roof collapse
YouTube video by CNN
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
235 people were killed in April when the roof of the Jet Set nightclub came crashing down during a packed concert. We found that for years before the collapse, structural issues and warning signs went unaddressed. w/ @stepozzebon.bsky.social and @averyschmitz.bsky.social for CNN youtu.be/H5UpgvxSc1A
youtu.be
CNN analysis explores cause of deadly Dominican nightclub roof collapse
YouTube video by CNN
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
New from CNN's graphics and OSINT teams: We visualized the fighting between Iran and Israel in a set of maps and annotated satellite images here: www.cnn.com/world/middle...
cnn.com
Visualizing Israeli airstrikes on Iran and retaliation in maps | CNN
CNN is tracking where the attacks are happening and which Iranian nuclear facilities have been targeted.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
We've got a super exciting slate of investigations in the coming weeks and months, but for now, here's my first byline at CNN, about the Israeli strikes on Iran. www.cnn.com/2025/06/13/m...
cnn.com
How Israel’s campaign to wipe out Iran’s nuclear program unfolded | CNN
A CNN analysis of satellite imagery and dozens of videos shared on social media offers insight into how Israel’s wide-ranging operation unfolded across the country.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
This seems like as good a time as any to finally share that I’ve joined the OSINT team at @cnn.com as a freelance researcher!!
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Jake Godin @godin.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Not only the wrong location, but appears as if the black line the IDF annotated here showing the "underground terrorist infrastructure site revealed following the strike" may have been visible even before the strike. May 8 SkySat imagery from @planet.com shows a black line with a similar shape.
A May 8 SkySat satellite image from Planet Labs showing the Jenin Secondary School for Boys and Ras Al Naqoura Secondary Boys School in southeastern Gaza near the European Hospital. Both schools were visible in a video released by the IDF after strikes on the European Hospital grounds, though the schools were misidentified as being the hospital. A black line in the IDF video supposedly showing a revealed tunnel network appears to be visible in the May 8 imagery, meaning it's unlikely to be tunnel related as there were no strikes at that time.A still from the IDF video that misidentified the two secondary schools as being the European Hospital. A black line visible on the grounds of the Jenin School is apparently visible in the earlier May 8 SkySat imagery, despite the IDF claiming the black line shows a revealed tunnel following strikes on May 13.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
As first pointed out by @annonemo.bsky.social and @nrg8000.bsky.social, video shared by the IDF labeled as Hamas tunnels under the European Hospital shows neither tunnels nor the European Hospital - it shows water flowing in the Jenin Secondary School for Boys. Compare it to this 2024 Airbus image.
June 2024 imagery, from Airbus via Google Earth shows water flowing in that same pattern.A screencap from an infrared video filmed by an IDF drone shared on twitter by @IDFonline. The video in the post was captioned "European Hospital" and the dark lines in the school courtyard were highlighted and labeled as "The underground infrastructure exposed after the attack."
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Malachy Browne @malachy.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Mohammed al Bardawil, a young witness to the attack on medics who we interviewed in Gaza, was killed at the weekend when an Israeli gunboat fired on Rafah beach. His father Saeed asked our colleague Bilal Shbair today for a photo of them together when Bilal interviewed them.
Saeed al Bardawil and his son Mohammad sit beside each other in a tent in Gaza for an interview with The New York Times about the IDF's shooting attack, which they witnessed, that killed 15 medics and first responders in Gaza in March. The pair were going fishing before dawn, a family tradition, when IDF soldiers detained and held them. As the medical convoy approached the area, the soldiers opened fire on it. Mohammad also saw the IDF fire on a UN vehicle that later happened on the scene, killing its driver Kamal Shahtout. Mohammad was reportedly killed by Israeli shelling of Rafah beach in May.
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Malachy Browne @malachy.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Sunday's @nytimes.com carries the photos of 15 medics and rescue workers shot and killed by the IDF in Gaza in March, collected from their families and colleagues. QR links out to video reconstruct, Six Deadly Minutes. Please share. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWhN...
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 09/04/2025
On March 23, a convoy of aid workers, traveling in vehicles marked with emergency flashing lights, was struck by gunfire in Gaza. Bellingcat used video footage of the incident to perform an audio analysis of the shooting. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04...
bellingcat.com
What Audio Analysis Reveals About Aid Workers Killed in Gaza - bellingcat
Hundreds of shots fired at aid convoy that resulted in deaths of multiple aid workers, audio analysis shows.
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Christoph Koettl @ckoettl.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Video obtained by my colleague Farnaz Fassihi shows how the IDF deliberately attacked, over several minutes, a convoy of ambulances and other emergency vehicles in #Gaza. #Israel wrongly claimed that the vehicles drove without emergency signals and headlights. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/w...
nytimes.com
Video Shows Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Under Gunfire Barrage, With Ambulance Lights On (Gift Article)
The U.N. has said Israel killed the workers. The video appears to contradict Israel’s version of the incident, which described the vehicles as “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency ...
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
You can find all of the stories from the Gaza Project here forbiddenstories.org/projects_pos..., and a special thanks to @godin.bsky.social @youssr.bsky.social @magdalenahervada.bsky.social and @charleymaher.bsky.social for letting me work with them on this investigation.
forbiddenstories.org
Gaza Project - Forbidden Stories
Gaza Project Français English We had to unite Almost 170 Palestinian journalists were killed in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched a war of retaliation for the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, ...
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Devastatingly, shortly after filming for the Gaza Project, Mahmoud Al-Basos was murdered by the Israeli Military while filming an IDP camp operated by a charity in Northern Gaza. Along with Al-Basos, two other journalists and at least four charity workers were killed in the strikes.
Mahmoud Samir Isleem Al-Basos is pictured with his cameras.A Planet Labs PBC SkySat and PlanetScope composite satellite image from March 2 (SkySat) and February 25 (PlanetScope) shows the location in northern Gaza where two strikes took place, one near a large area filled with hundreds of tents and one to the south in the rubble of Beit Lahia. An annotated line shows the distance to an IDF outpost near the northern Gaza border, which is about 1.8km from the first strike and IDP camp.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Forbidden Stories worked with a journalist in Gaza, Mahmoud Samir Isleem Al-Basos, to capture aerial photos of Al-Shati, where Al-Hajj was targeted, and Jabalia, one of the most devastated areas of Gaza. Using photogrammetry, I then processed these photos into 3D models.
3D model of Al-Shati overlayed on Planet Labs imagery of Gaza3D model of Jabalia overlayed on Planet Labs imagery of Gaza
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Crucially, in addition to investigating their targeting, we continued the reporting on the destruction of Gaza that Thuraya and Al-Hajj had been doing. We did this through two first-of-their-kind 3D captures, which we believe are the most detailed documentation of Gaza done since the war began.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
The IDF refused to respond to questions about these incidents or provide evidence for their assertions that the journalists they targeted were, in fact, terrorists. They did, however, reject outright the allegation of systemic attacks on journalists.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Bellingcat found that the closest position the IDF was known to operate at around the time of the strike was 3.5 kilometers away from Al-Hajj, and that it's unclear if the IDF was even still there when they targeted him.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
The second case we looked at was the targeting of Abdallah Al-Hajj. Al-Hajj is a drone journalist who worked for UNRWA and had just finished filming with his drone in Al-Shati Refugee Camp when the IDF targeted him. Miraculously, he survived the strike, but both of his legs had to be amputated.
A photograph of Abdallah Al-Hajj, taken in a hospital in Qatar, shows Al-Hajj after the strike, with both legs amputated. The photograph appeared in a New York Times article about those injured in the IDF's war on Gaza. https://www.nytimes.com/card/2024/11/19/world/middleeast/palestinians-qatar-israel-hamas-war
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
The Washington Post previously investigated their targeting using the footage Thuraya filmed that day, which showed he had only filmed the site of the strike and no IDF positions, vehicles, or troops. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/0...
washingtonpost.com
Drone footage raises questions about Israeli justification for deadly strike on Gaza journalists
Footage recovered from the drone of an Al Jazeera team killed by the IDF in a targeted Jan. 7 missile strike raises critical questions about the Israeli justification for the attack.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Bellingcat found there was no IDF activity within five kilometers of Thuraya, calling into further question the IDF's claim that they targeted "a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops."
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
The first case we looked at was the targeting of journalist Mustapha Thuraya. Thuraya and his colleague Hamza Al-Dahdouh were killed by the IDF as they returned from filming a home leveled by an IDF airstrike.
Mustapha Thuraya is pictured piloting a drone.
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Thomas Bordeaux @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
As part of a large collaboration of a dozen newsrooms, led by @forbidden-stories.bsky.social, Bellingcat investigated two cases where journalists were targeted by the IDF shortly after they used drones to document Gaza from above.
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