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Why Won’t the Media Tell the Truth About UNRWA’s Connection to Palestinian Terrorism?
Palestinians pass by the gate of an UNRWA-run school in Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Reuters/Abed Omar Qusini.
Few. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands.
Each of these words denotes vastly different quantities. They all provide important information in war coverage, where numbers play an important role. For instance, an Oct. 30 Reuters headline states: “Israeli strike kills dozens in north Gaza residential block, US calls incident ‘horrifying.’“
The first paragraphs of Nidal Al-Mughrabi’s accompanying story provide more details about the dozens of reported fatalities:
At least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday, the Gaza health ministry said, and the U.S. called the incident “horrifying”.
Medics said at least 20 children were among the dead.
“A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them,” the territory’s health ministry said in a statement.
Later on Tuesday, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza government media office, put the number of fatalities at 93.
That’s a great deal of emphasis on numbers. Clearly, numbers are newsworthy, and their accurate depiction is essential for reliable reporting. Thus, with regard to the 93 Palestinians reported killed or missing, Reuters’ headline rightly refers to “dozens,” not “a few.”
Yet, when it comes to the thousands of UNRWA staffers whom Israel has accused of holding membership in terror organizations, with hundreds of them said to be serving as military operatives, Reuters’ recounting of numbers suddenly lacks the precision which characterized the reporting of the reported Palestinian fatalities.
Not only does Al-Mughrabi fail to report the actual number, but his stand in for the figure is downright false.
Thus, Al-Mughrabi grossly underreports the number of UNRWA employees that Israel has said belong to terror organizations, erring:
Israeli officials cited the involvement of a handful of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees’ thousands of staffers in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and a few staffers’ membership in Hamas and other armed groups. [Emphasis added.]
“Few” means a small number. And yet Israel has accused more than 2000 UNRWA staffers of belonging to terror organizations.
“Few” is not a fair stand in for more than 90 reported fatalities, and Reuters rightly cited “dozens” in that case. All the more so, “few” is a false representation of more than 450 reported UNRWA staffers who moonlight as military operatives.
With respect to more than 2,000, which is how many UNRWA staffers Israel has accused of possessing membership in Hamas or other terror organizations (either as military operatives or otherwise), “few” is a farce.
As Reuters itself reported in March, Israel cited more than 450 UNRWA employees moonlighting for Hamas as military operatives (“Israel says over 450 UN aid agency workers in Gaza are ‘military operatives“).
Reuters reported at the time:
Israel’s military said on Monday that the U.N. aid agency UNRWA in Gaza employed over 450 “military operatives” from Hamas and other armed groups, and that Israel has shared this intelligence with the United Nations. . . .
“Over 450 UNRWA employees are military operatives in terror groups in Gaza. Over 450. This is no mere coincidence. This is systematic. There is no claiming ‘We did not know’,” military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters in a briefing.
“We sent the information that I am sharing now, as well as further intelligence, to our international partners, including the U.N.,” he said.
#Breaking: IDF Spokesperson releases a full statement on UNRWA:
“Over 450 @UNRWA employees are military operatives in terror groups in Gaza… This is no mere coincidence, this is systematic. There is no claiming: ‘we didn’t know.’” pic.twitter.com/hJFHZA86ps
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 5, 2024
Moreover, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has cited more than 2,315 UNRWA employees with membership in Hamas or Islamic Jihad — meaning both “military operatives” and members with non-combat positions (administrative, finance, propaganda, social welfare, education, etc).
Voice of America quoted Adi Farjon, deputy permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva:
“For example, it is a fact, that 19 members of the organization took an active part in the October 7 terrorist attack. It is also a fact that more than 2,135 UNRWA workers in Gaza are members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” she said.
Last week, CAMERA contacted Reuters reminding editors of its own coverage of Israel’s information concerning the several hundred UNRWA employees who double as terror operatives, and also informing the news agency about the Foreign Ministry’s information regarding 2,135 UNRWA staffers who belong to terror groups. Yet, as of this writing, Reuters has failed to rectify the “few” falsehood.
Reducing thousands to a few gives readers a “few” reasons to question Reuters’ stated commitment to trust, integrity, and freedom of bias.
The Arabic version of the same Reuters article also grossly underreports the number of UNRWA employees Israel has accused of belonging to terror groups. It says that “a small number of staffers joined Hamas and other armed groups.”
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
The post Why Won’t the Media Tell the Truth About UNRWA’s Connection to Palestinian Terrorism? 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.