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New York Times Guest Essay Claims IDF Targets Gazan Children; Is It True?
The New York Times opinion essay “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza” from October 9 blew up last weekend, as weapons and forensic ballistic experts debunked and questioned X-ray images featured in the piece claiming to be 5.56 caliber bullets inside the skulls of Gazan children.
The actual impact of a 5.56 caliber bullet was nowhere close to what these images claimed to be. But this thread on X (formerly Twitter) gathers various inputs across the platform. With no exit wounds present, skull fractures, or change in the shape of the bullets, the authenticity of these X-rays was concluded as being highly problematic.
The New York Times appears to have published completely fake news in order to falsely accuse the IDF of committing war crimes and shooting children “at point blank range” which Gazan and foreign medics testify they witnessed.
The only problem with this is the “evidence”… pic.twitter.com/Dsi9YR5TBa
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 12, 2024
This suggests, in short, that the Times did not verify the information in the piece adequately before it was published — thereby allowing lies to be platformed to the public. Here are two extensive examinations of the X-ray images.
As a former Law Enforcement Officer, Ret. Special Forces Soldier (Green Beret) and Sniper, I feel confident in saying I know the effects of 5.56 NATO (M855).
Conclusion:
The NYT lied or failed to verify the information presented to them. This is based on the MV and BC of the… pic.twitter.com/0gusGVtwHg
— Matt Tardio (@angertab) October 12, 2024
And in more depth, the forensic medical evidence is provided here:
Hello @afalkhatib
I saw your post after seeing the reply from @COLRICHARDKEMP and @AntSpeaks, and then I read the article, twice. As someone who is actually a forensic ballistics specialist, I wanted to respond to your post, and this article, with some facts that will… https://t.co/NLhX9ILcCn
— Cheryl E (@CherylWroteIt) October 12, 2024
As HonestReporting previously stated in its critique of the piece on Friday, these testimonies are not proof that these casualties are a result of IDF fire. Indeed, Hamas is also known to shoot their own people.
Nothing here is proof of war crimes by the @IDF. This x-ray, which looks suspicious anyway, certainly doesn’t prove it. Who is to say the head shots were not Hamas fire, either deliberately or unintentionally aimed at their own children? Hamas do use 5.56 as well as other… https://t.co/JgJrXw5nXn
— Rɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ Kᴇᴍᴘ ⋁ (@COLRICHARDKEMP) October 11, 2024
But it’s the response of the article’s author, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, that really destroys this piece’s legitimacy.
The author of the NYT piece weighs in, and it’s exactly what you’d expect pic.twitter.com/BFe4qK9cro
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 13, 2024
To deny that Hamas uses civilians as human shields and claim Israel does — and denying that “maximizing civilian deaths” is in Hamas’ interests — is not only delusional, it is an intentional, blatant lie.
There are countries, journalists, and international bodies, the UN included, which have confirmed the use of human shields. And Hamas leaders, like Yahya Sinwar, have even been outspoken on the role innocent civilians play in their strategy to defeat Israel.
PAMA’s Roots
But more than that, the organization that sent these doctors into Gaza as volunteers, the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA), has a history entangled with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US organization that has been linked to terrorist groups.
I will question the motives of any organization that routinely collaborates with CAIR (the US-based Hamas front group) and hosts antisemite extraordinaire Linda Sarsour pic.twitter.com/jdcIQgWRAn
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 12, 2024
It appears that PAMA is no stranger to outright disinformation, and the proof is in the pudding for this New York Times piece as well.
Proof the piece was authored by a PAMA volunteer, as was the person who supplied the images, Dr. Mimi Syed.
It’s a shame because I’m sure PAMA has done important work in Gaza with those tragically impacted by the war. But there’s no excuse for joining the disinformation campaign pic.twitter.com/ctCzz3vEoN
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 12, 2024
Lesson for The New York Times? Consider your sources. No mission that seems righteous should come at the expense of your publication’s integrity. Just because a claim fits your ideological worldview on Israel, it doesn’t remove the obligation to fact-check and do journalistic due diligence.
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 New York Times Guest Essay Claims IDF Targets Gazan Children; Is It True? 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.