CNN's 'Senior Investigations Reporter' Posted That She 'Hate[s] ... Zionism'

CNN senior investigations reporter Tamara Qiblawi has posted online that she “hate[s] … Zionism” — yet she is the lead author on a widely-cited article this week that claims Hamas is more resilient than Israel is willing to admit.

The article claimed that Israel has only damaged, not destroyed, several Hamas battalions, and cast doubt on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims to be near victory — a key portion of his pitch for more American arms.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the article’s claims, and the denial is quoted in the article. Nevertheless, the article made the rounds — including in Israel, where Army Radio reported CNN’s claims as a top news story Monday.

But one of the article’s key sources, retired U.S. Army Col. Peter Mansoor, openly backs a Palestinian state — even after the October 7 terror attack — betraying the not-too-subtle political bias of the article against Israeli victory.

Then there is Qiblawi. As analyst Eitan Fischberger noted on X (formerly Twitter), she has a long, radical history.

In one post in particular, from 2012, Qiblawi wrote: “thing i hate above all else,besides zionism: armchair analysis. if ure not out there trying to effect change, stop pontificating, seriously.”

In other social media posts cited by critics, Qiblawi appeared to state other radical anti-Israel opinions.

CNN’s official biography for Qiblawi refers to her past work in Beirut as a freelancer for “international media.” But according to Fischberger, one of the outlets for which she wrote was Al Akhbar English. Al Akhbar has been identified as a pro-Hezbollah, anti-American publication.

Neither CNN nor Qiblawi has responded to a request for comment via X.

Asked about the CNN article on Tuesday, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the article was “shoddy” and that Israel had, in fact, “shattered” Hamas, even if “fragments” or “shards” of Hamas were regrouping in places.

“We’re taking them apart — slowly, consistently, with precise intelligence.” While Hamas would regroup, he said, if given the opportunity, Israel was “smashing” the terror organization. “We are finishing this job,” he concluded.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.