US journalist arrested for accusations of endangering Israeli national security after Iran missile attack

Israeli police have arrested the independent American reporter Jeremy Loffredo (28) after he was accused of endangering Israel's national security after Iran's missile attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 1.

Israeli authorities said Loffredo reported the locations of the Iranian missile impacts, which undermined Israel's security. Journalists are restricted from specifying the exact impact locations of enemy missiles fired on Israel by the Israeli Military Censor, as this information could assist Iran and its regional terror proxies.

Israeli and U.S. aerial defenses neutralized the majority of the incoming 181 Iranian ballistic missiles, however, an undisclosed number succeeded in making some impact, including causing some material damage at the Nevatim and Tel Nof Air Bases in southern Israel.

Another missile hit close to an intelligence base in northern Tel Aviv.

🚨🇮🇱Military arrested journalist Jeremy Loffredo @loffredojeremy 🚨

His last video posted on X reports the damage Iran did to Israel’s strategic locations. Damages the mainstream media did not report. Now @X has locked his acct from repost. pic.twitter.com/YKM2wzWDUi

— GenXGirl (@GenXGirl1994) October 9, 2024

Loffredo also reported that Israel’s aerial strikes against Hamas in Gaza emanated from the Nevatim base, located in the Negev Desert, and disclosed that the Israeli government’s private jet, used by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was located at the air base.

Loffredo defines himself as a New York-based independent journalist. However, he was arrested with members of “Looking the Occupation in the Eye,” a politically motivated far-left group opposed to the Jewish state’s presence in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank.

Loffredo's U.S. citizenship has raised concerns that his arrest could potentially spark diplomatic tensions between Jerusalem and Washington.

His Israeli attorney Leah Tsemel dismissed the accusation that her client's reporting compromised Israeli national security.

"He published the information openly and fully, without attempting to hide anything. If this information constitutes aiding the enemy, many other journalists in Israel, including Israeli reporters, should also be arrested," Tsemel argued.

"A spy would not have acted so publicly and transparently," she added.

U.S. Embassy representatives attended the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court hearing following a request by the police to extend the journalist’s detention.

Yotam Eyal, a legal expert with The Legal Forum of Israel, considers the charges against Loffredo to be serious.

“There is suspicion of serious offenses and these are serious charges, involving espionage and aiding the enemy. No foreign national has the right to come to a country and act in a way that endangers it,” Eyal assessed.

“This individual was not merely interfering with military activities,” he continued.

“It turns out he was actively documenting the Iranian missile strikes, revealing how close those missiles landed to strategic targets in Israel. This is a very dangerous phenomenon, especially during a time of war when we are under brutal attacks,” the legal expert warned.

Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack was the second time in six months that the Iranian regime launched a direct attack against Israel. The Israeli government has vowed to respond strongly and is currently discussing the issue with the Biden administration.