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Media Favor Hamas’ Narrative in Coverage of Gaza Hospital Raid
An Israeli tank maneuvers, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, July 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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B-2 Bombers Moving to Guam Amid Middle East Tensions, US Officials Say
FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam January 11, 2018. Picture taken January 11, 2018. U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Gerald Willis/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on Saturday, as President Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.
It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.
The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran‘s nuclear program, including Fordow.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to disclose any further details. One official said no forward orders had been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They did not say how many B-2 bombers are being moved.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Experts and officials are closely watching to see whether the B-2 bombers will move forward to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Experts say that Diego Garcia is in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East.
The United States had B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia up until last month, when they were replaced with B-52 bombers.
Israel said on Saturday it had killed a veteran Iranian commander during attacks by both sides in the more than week-long air war, while Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear program while under threat.
Israel says Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes.
Trump has said he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel’s side, enough time “to see whether or not people come to their senses,” he said.
Reuters was first to report this week the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe and other military assets to the Middle East, including the deployment of more fighter jets.
An aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific is also heading to the Middle East.
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Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says it Killed Top Iran Commander
Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran deems European proposals to curb its nuclear program unrealistic and a hurdle to agreement, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday, while Israel said it killed a veteran Iranian commander during attacks by both sides.
The more than week-long air war between longtime foes Israel and Iran continued with reports of strikes on an Iranian nuclear facility. The US was weighing whether to back Israel in the conflict while other powers urged de-escalation.
Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met British, French and German counterparts, plus the EU, on Friday in Geneva in search of a path back to diplomacy and a possible ceasefire.
But proposals made by the European powers were “unrealistic,” the senior Iranian official told Reuters, saying that insistence on them would not bring agreement closer.
“In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting,” the official said, adding that zero enrichment was a dead end and Tehran would not negotiate over its defensive capabilities.
Israel launched attacks on June 13 saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm, was killed in a strike on an apartment in the city of Qom.
Calling his killing a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”, Katz said Izadi had financed and armed the Palestinian militant group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
The Revolutionary Guards said five of its members died in attacks on Khorramabad, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on US and British sanctions lists, but said Israel had also attacked a building in Qom, with initial reports of a 16-year-old killed and two people injured.
HUNDREDS KILLED
At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.
At a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Araqchi said Israel‘s aggression, which he said had indications of US involvement, should stop so Iran can “come back to diplomacy.”
“It is obvious that I can’t go to negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardments under the support of the US,” he told reporters on the sidelines, before meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The top Iranian diplomat said US involvement in the conflict would be “very dangerous.” Araqchi is set to visit Moscow, Iran‘s ally, on Monday.
President Donald Trump has said he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel‘s side, enough time “to see whether or not people come to their senses,” he said.
Iran would be able to have a nuclear weapon “within a matter of weeks, or certainly within a matter of months,” he said on Friday, adding: “We can’t let that happen.”
Yet in March, Tulsi Gabbard, his national intelligence director, testified to Congress that the US intelligence community judged that Tehran was not working on a nuclear warhead.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at the Isfahan nuclear facility, one of Iran‘s biggest, was hit – but added it contained no nuclear material.
Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors expressed concerns to UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi about the safety of nuclear facilities close to their countries and “dangerous repercussions” of targeting them, Qatar state news agency said.
Israel said it was attacking military infrastructure.
INTERCEPTIONS OVER TEL AVIV
Early on Saturday, air raid sirens were triggered across parts of central Israel and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with missile interceptions visible over Tel Aviv and explosions echoing. There were no reports of casualties.
Those killed in Iran include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel said it also killed a second commander of the Guards’ overseas arm, whom it identified as Benham Shariyari, during an overnight strike.
Iran‘s health minister, Mohammadreza Zafarqandi, said Israel has attacked three hospitals during the conflict, killing two health workers and a child, and has targeted six ambulances, according to Fars.
Asked about such reports, an Israeli military official said that only military targets were being struck, though there may have been collateral damage in some incidents.
An Iranian missile hit a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Thursday.
Turkey, Russia and China have demanded immediate de-escalation.
Despite the downbeat assessment from the senior Iranian official, French President Emmanuel Macron said he and Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian agreed on a Saturday call to accelerate talks.
Israel says it will not stop attacks until it dismantles Iran‘s nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities, which it views as an existential threat, saying this could take more than a few weeks.
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