Al-Aqsa TV is a television channel operated by Hamas and based in the Gaza Strip. The channel, named after Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, began broadcasting on January 9, 2006, after Hamas's victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. The programs aired on this channel include news and propaganda promoting Hamas, children's shows like "Tomorrow's Pioneers" that promote violence and antisemitism, as well as religiously inspired entertainment.
Fathi Hamad, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Interior Minister of the Gaza Strip, currently directs the channel. Despite facing challenges, such as attempts to shut down the station due to lacking the necessary broadcast license, Al-Aqsa TV has persisted. During the Gaza War in 2008, the channel's headquarters in Gaza City were bombed by Israeli aircraft, leading to the complete destruction of the building. However, the station continued to broadcast using a mobile TV unit.
In the 2014 Gaza War, an Israeli airstrike targeted a media building housing both al-Aqsa TV and al-Aqsa Radio in Gaza City. While the television station continued broadcasting, the radio station briefly went silent before later resuming its broadcasts. On November 12, 2018, Israel bombed the station building after issuing warnings and launching non-exploding missiles nearby, amid increased cross-border fighting. In 2019, Israeli authorities identified that al-Aqsa TV used coded messages to recruit operatives for Hamas. As a result, the Israeli Ministry of Defense designated al-Aqsa TV as a terrorist organization.