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Haniyeh’s Top 5 ‘Moderate’ Moments That the Media Chose to Omit
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal hugs senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh before leaving Gaza Strip, Dec. 10, 2012. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
From CNN to Reuters and elsewhere, the mainstream media is writing profiles about Ismail Haniyeh, and the domino effect expected on Israel-Hamas negotiations following his assassination.
Haniyeh was the political chief of the Hamas terror organization. He helped build its military and its Iranian relationship, and he was eliminated by an alleged Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran.
In reporting on his death, CNN told his life’s story — how he was born in the Shati refugee camp, how he rose through the ranks of Hamas power, most notably, his role in ceasefire-hostage negotiations with Israel since October 7.
Reuters also highlighted his role in negotiations, referring to Haniyeh as the more “pragmatic” or “moderate” of his comrades, compared to the likes of Yahya Sinwar.
While these facts are objectively true, they distort the mass-murdering killer of innocent civilians that he was. HonestReporting brings you five of Haniyeh’s most “moderate” moments:
When He Said “God is Good” and Prayed As He Watched Footage of Hamas October 7 Massacre
This is what Reuters published: “Yet for all the tough language in public, Arab diplomats and officials had viewed him as relatively pragmatic compared with more hardline voices inside Gaza, where the military wing of Hamas planned the Oct. 7 attack.”
Perhaps the Hamas leader did not physically plan the details of the attack, but he contributed to its potential every day, supported his organization’s terror acts, and celebrated it when it happened. Here is Haniyeh’s reaction as the news of the October 7 massacre spread:
On October 7, Ismail Haniyeh watched the footage live of Hamas’s attack on Israel.
While smiling, he then prayed with other Hamas officials.
He is now dead.
Updates Here: https://t.co/saTv7xr8tZ pic.twitter.com/HdERaqBgab
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) July 31, 2024
“From the River to the Sea” Haniyeh Supports “Armed Resistance”
Here’s a famous quote from Haniyeh: “The Hamas movement will lead Intifada after Intifada until we liberate Palestine — all of Palestine, Allah willing. Allah Akbar and praise Allah.”
Sounds pragmatic. In fact, it sounds like he’s fanatically moderate.
Donations to Gaza are “Financial Jihad”
This one is filled with lots of “moderate” speech. There are two quotes that stand out.
Westerners especially will be heartwarmed as he states early on that Gazans are the sacrifice for the greater good, and that this current war with Israel has nothing to do with the Palestinian people, but rather with Jihad:
The time has come for jihad of the swords; this is the battle for Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque, and not the battle of the Palestinian people, or Gaza, or the people in Gaza.
Later on, as he calls out for financial aid in waging Jihad, saying it is more important that even humanitarian aid, he says this:
Dear brothers and sisters, let us call this “financial Jihad” … despite the immense importance and Gaza’s need for any aid it can get. This Is financial Jihad … the notion of waging Jihad with one’s life and one’s money.
“The blood of children, women and elderly” should be used as motivation for the resistance
Anti-Israel protesters on college campuses may not believe it, but this is as pragmatic as it gets with Haniyeh.
CNN wrote that “Haniyeh has also felt the personal toll of the war in Gaza,” as his sister was arrested in Israel and “Israeli airstrikes killed three of his sons and four of his grandchildren.”
The network also attempted to paint him as a true diplomat: “Afterward, Haniyeh insisted their deaths would not affect ongoing ceasefire and hostage talks.”
Interestingly, he was quoted saying this immediately after: “Whoever thinks that by targeting my kids during the negotiation talks and before a deal is agreed upon that it will force Hamas to back down on its demands is delusional.”
And there’s a reason why — a fundamental ideology that CNN failed to omit.
After October 7, he got on television, and preached this message of “peace” and his true feelings on a lasting ceasefire:
The blood of the children, women and elderly … We need this blood so that it will ignite within us the spirit of revolution, so that it will arouse within us persistence, so that it will arouse within us defiance and advance…
Is it possible to say that post-October 7, Hamas has the Palestinian people’s best interest at heart?
That time he lead chants calling for the massacre of Jews and, oh, “death to Israel”
Finally, here’s the number one moment of his moderate, diplomatic leadership. This one really shows how willing he would be to find a compromise with Israel — and, oh, the Jewish people.
A reminder that leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh led the ancient chant for the massacre of Jews “Khaybar, Khaybar” and called for the destruction of Israel. Many say Hamas changed their charter to recognise Israel. It was a sham. Haniyeh wanted blood.pic.twitter.com/i4LvgVUnLa
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) July 31, 2024
So, keep these five examples, just some of many, in mind as you read the news, especially the neutral profiles about the terrorist Ismail Haniyeh’s life and rise to power, and his stake in the hostage and ceasefire negotiations.
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.
The post Haniyeh’s Top 5 ‘Moderate’ Moments That the Media Chose to Omit 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.