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LA Times Refuses to Substantiate or Retract False Charge That Israeli Snipers Target Children
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in this handout picture released on March 5, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
As of this writing, The Los Angeles Times continues to refuse to either substantiate or retract a spurious charge that Israeli snipers in the Gaza Strip targeted several young Palestinian children, shooting them in the head.
In his Feb. 16 op-ed, “I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn’t war – it was annihilation,” Irfan Galaria made the very alarming accusation that IDF snipers targeted multiple small children in Khan Younis, fatally shooting them in the head. Galaria, an American doctor who volunteered in the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, alleged:
On one occasion, a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head. These families were returning to their homes in Khan Yunis, about 2.5 miles away from the hospital, after Israeli tanks had withdrawn. But the snipers apparently stayed behind. None of these children survived.
Given that this is such an egregious, serious charge — which has not been independently confirmed — CAMERA turned to the Spokesmen Unit of the Israel Defense Forces for a response, a routine step which The Los Angeles Times did not take before publishing the op-ed, with its vitriolic charges of “annihilation.”
In response to Galaria’s charge that IDF snipers targeted small children, the IDF wrote to this CAMERA researcher:
In response to Hamas’ barbaric attacks, the IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.
In stark contrast to Hamas’ intentional attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. The claims made have no factual basis and as such should be disregarded.
In light of the severity of Galaria’s accusation, and the IDF’s categorical denial, CAMERA urged The Los Angeles Times to provide details about the alleged shooting incidents so that the highly questionable claim can be fully fact-checked. CAMERA requested the date, time, and exact location of the alleged shootings, in addition to the names and ages of the alleged victims. CAMERA also inquired whether The Times could produce medical records or other evidence available to substantiate the account, or could otherwise point our researchers to any other credible sources to independently verify Galaria’s very serious accusation that Israeli snipers killed the children.
In response to CAMERA’s request for substantiation, The Los Angeles Times wrote:
Dr. Irfan Galaria’s Op-Ed is commentary based on his experience as a volunteer doctor in Gaza. Dr. Galaria’s account of what he saw and the description of medical cases that he and other doctors treated at the European Hospital over 10 days starting Jan. 29 are credible in our review. The single gunshot wounds he described have been corroborated by other doctors working with him. The presence of sniper fire, and the wounding and killing of Gazans by such fire, has been reported in multiple sources.
There is no doubt that Israeli snipers are active in Gaza, firing on Hamas members who murdered Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 or who pose a threat to Israeli soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip. About that there is no dispute.
But The Times is either unwilling or unable to point to any credible source for Dr. Galaria’s egregious charge that Israeli snipers fired on multiple small children, ages five to eight, who posed no threat. The fact that Dr. Galaria and unnamed others said they saw children brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head does not prove that Israeli snipers fired on the children. The doctors do not claim to have seen the shooting incident take place or Israeli snipers firing on children.
In addition, Dr. Galaria has not cited any forensic evidence indicating that Israeli snipers are responsible for these reported killings — or that any children have ever been deliberately targeted. Since when does the mere presence of a body without any forensic evidence indicate the identity of the shooter?
Moreover, there are multiple accounts of Hamas fighters shooting Gaza civilians. Given that The Los Angeles Times cannot cite any credible witnesses of the actual shootings of the children or provide any evidence indicating Israeli responsibility for the purported killings, the media watchdog organization reiterates its request for a clarification indicating that The Times was not able to independently verify Dr. Galaria’s claim.
That the paper cannot or will not substantiate a toxic charge redolent of an age-old bigoted trope demonizing Jews as child killers is particularly troubling in this period of unprecedented antisemitism in the United States, an alarming period of violence that included the fatal assault of a Jewish man at an anti-Israel protest in a suburb of Los Angeles.
The financially floundering Los Angeles Times syndicated Galaria’s op-ed via Tribune Content Agency, endowing the egregious charges with an even broader audience. In addition to appearing in numerous newspapers, Galaria’s incendiary “annihilation” accusations earned him a platform on CNN, where correspondent Michael Holmes praised what he called the “incredibly powerful piece in The Los Angeles Times.”
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
The post LA Times Refuses to Substantiate or Retract False Charge That Israeli Snipers Target Children first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.