Press TV Reporter Naqaa Hamed Released After Nearly Two Weeks in Israeli Detention

Press TV reporter Naqaa Hamed has been released after nearly two weeks in detention at Damon Prison following a decision by the Salem Military Court. Hamed, 38, was detained by Israeli forces on September 14 at a checkpoint near Tuqu’ in Bethlehem. According to Press TV, she was separated from her camera crew, transferred to an undisclosed facility and questioned about her journalistic work while being held without formal charges.

Hamed, a Palestinian-American citizen and mother of three, has more than 15 years of experience covering political and humanitarian crises. She joined Press TV in 2024 and has reported from the occupied West Bank. Press TV said her detention followed previous incidents in which she was injured while reporting, including incidents in December 2025 and August 2026 involving rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas while she was visibly identified as a journalist.

Press TV also said Hamed had been subjected to an online smear campaign and that Israeli media outlets had circulated unsubstantiated allegations of espionage against her. Her family reportedly received no response from the US Embassy in occupied al-Quds regarding her detention. International press freedom organizations have called for her release and criticized what they describe as efforts to restrict journalists’ ability to report from the occupied West Bank.