Media Favor Hamas’ Narrative in Coverage of Gaza Hospital Raid

It’s been a busy news weekend: Israel raided a Gaza hospital and detained hundreds of terrorists.

Media outlets should have reported this fact while giving weight to the Israeli statement showing that Hamas was operating inside the hospital.

Instead, too many opted for the narrative of Hamas, a deceitful terror group, whose health ministry made Israel look like it had intentionally targeted innocent patients.

Three strategies were used to achieve this goal: Provocative headlines, hiding or distorting Israel’s statement, and relying on the accounts of the hospital director, who is a suspected Hamas operative.

Irresponsible Headlines

The worst headlines — from respected outlets such as AP, Newsweek, and NBC News —  blamed Israel for “burning” the Kamal Adwan hospital. And like any blood libel, the accusation spread like wildfire.

Never mind that Israel categorically denied it. Never mind that there was no attribution. The damage was done: Most news consumers don’t read much beyond the headline, and for them, Israel was instantly painted as a bloodthirsty monster:

Despite IDF denials, too many media, including @AP, prefer to believe the propaganda and lies spread by Hamas-controlled sources.

Israel is not “burning” hospitals. Period.

See @LTC_Shoshani below.  https://t.co/4kIgbL1JHS https://t.co/9w3rxOEJaj pic.twitter.com/auhDKq7zwN

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 29, 2024

Meanwhile, @NBCNews has no problem parroting the lies of a terrorist organization.https://t.co/4mYfkuXTnN pic.twitter.com/O0YkVwRdrf

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 29, 2024

The source of the libel becomes evident only upon further reading: An unverified claim by the Hamas-run health ministry.

Yet media call it “Gaza’s health ministry” without acknowledging that they “could not independently verify” its claims. This phrase appears to be saved only for Israel’s claims, even if they are backed by evidence.

So why do the media parrot the lies of a terror group? The sad answer is that they must give bylines to their Gaza reporters, who are either biased or would not risk relations with their Hamas sources.

Therefore, if an unbiased editor questions a headline or wants to add Israel’s response at the top, he or she might experience unpleasant pushback from the Gaza crew and never try to act professionally again. If he or she is biased to begin with? Problem solved.

Either way, the truth is lost.

Hiding or Distorting Israel’s Statement

This is precisely what might explain another disturbing issue: The fact that media outlets have buried or distorted Israel’s detailed statement.

That statement included the following points:

• 240 terrorists were apprehended inside the hospital, along with munitions and weapons.
• Hundreds of patients and medical staff were safely evacuated to an alternative hospital.
• Some of the terrorists posed as patients or tried to flee in ambulances.
• The hospital director, who is a suspected Hamas operative, was taken for questioning.
• Hamas terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and RPGs at IDF troops.

Reuters called the 240 suspects simply “Palestinians,” and omitted the claim about terrorists posing as patients, fleeing in ambulances or firing at Israeli soldiers. It also presented Israel’s statement only in the third paragraph.

.@Reuters received a statement from us stating we apprehended 240 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.

Those some 240 terrorists were cross-referenced with multiple intelligence sources of the IDF and ISA. Many of them also admitted being involved in terrorism during… pic.twitter.com/8u4L5LpWsH

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) December 29, 2024

Similarly, The Guardian addressed Israel’s side only in the 5th paragraph, without mentioning any details about the terrorists’ activity.

And CNN buried some of Israel’s claims in the 7th paragraph.

Relying on a Suspected Terrorist

Meanwhile, the claims media chose to highlight were based on the social media accounts of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the hospital — who has been detained by the army as a suspected Hamas operative.

That alone should have been enough to automatically compromise Abu Safia’s reliability. Instead, a post shared on his accounts was widely quoted, saying that: “Fire is ablaze everywhere in the hospital” — which may have led to the libelous headlines mentioned above.

Anyone knows that fire can erupt during urban warfare, especially if Hamas operatives fire RPGs and anti-tank missiles at IDF troops (which was barely reported).

Kamal Adwan Hospital Director is a Colonel in Hamas

Israel’s counterterror operation at Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital has sparked major headlines, with false claims of IDF atrocities.

Here’s the scoop: the hospital director, Hussam Abu Safiya, is a Colonel in Hamas  pic.twitter.com/IiuLejiZOs

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) December 27, 2024

But journalists seem to lack common sense when it comes to Gaza coverage.

They ignore the truth, which is simple and clear: Israel does not target hospitals. Hamas hides in them.

No media outlet should be favoring the latter’s narrative.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

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