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Al Jazeera Promotes Inflammatory Documentary Claiming an IDF War on Gaza Hospitals
The Al Jazeera Media Network logo is seen on its headquarters building in Doha, Qatar, June 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon
There’s a destructive rumor that Israel and the IDF are committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Qatari-owned propaganda machine Al Jazeera has often perpetuated this false narrative.
Time and time again, the network ignores evidence, employs questionable “journalists” on the ground in Gaza, and leaves out important context when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Al Jazeera’s video, “Gaza: The War on Hospitals,” has garnered upwards of 175,000 views on YouTube since it was published on June 1, 2024.
Its main narrative is that Israel is deliberately “targeting and bombing” health facilities and killing health workers in order to a) collapse the health infrastructure in the Strip, and b) expel Palestinian civilians from the northern Gaza Strip, even if that means many of them are killed along the way.
Coincidentally, Qatar has hosted Hamas leaders and has been a financier for Hamas activities in Gaza, so Al Jazeera and Hamas are interconnected in a strange web of funds and agendas.
Here are several points — out of many — that must be debunked.
1. Al Jazeera claim: Today’s “expulsion” of Gazans from the northern Gaza Strip and anywhere else in Gaza over the last 10 months by the IDF is a “Nakba” repeat.
Why it’s false: The IDF’s intent is not to “expel” Gaza civilians or to massacre them. Hamas terrorists plant themselves in civilian areas purposely. The IDF warning civilians to leave for their own safety is not a “threat” or a method of “ethnic cleansing” — it is for their own benefit. By doing so, the IDF also loses its element of surprise and puts its soldiers in more danger.
In every ceasefire-hostage deal discussed, there was never a question of whether Gazans would remain in Gaza. This is just a temporary maneuver because, just as in each area the IDF has fought in, getting civilians out of a war zone is crucial to minimizing deaths.
2. Al Jazeera claim: Bombing and targeting hospitals is a “major war strategy” of the IDF.
Why it’s false: This is insinuating a strategy by the IDF to target civilians for some sort of nefarious purpose. Throughout the film, there is a major emphasis on Israel bombarding residential areas and medical facilities without any context, or mention of the fact that hostages were being held inside hospitals, and nearly no mention of a Hamas presence. But as previously stated, Hamas operates in hospitals, schools, mosques, and within residential areas. This is exactly the reason why the IDF warned civilians to evacuate the area.
3. Al Jazeera claim: Hospitals are systematically targeted, and the IDF targeted and killed sick people and families on their way to al Ahli Hospital and the Jordanian field hospital, and struck ambulances.
Why it’s false: This claim can be discredited with one fell swoop, as HonestReporting has previously exposed Al Jazeera interviewee Ghassan Abu Sitta as a limelight-lover who spreads conspiracies about Israel to the media.
In at least one instance on January 17, the IDF provided evidence opposing the claim that the Jordanian field hospital had been shelled and how civilians could have been caught in crossfire.
4. Al Jazeera claim: There is no definitive proof that Hamas is/was operating in any Gaza hospitals.
Why it’s false: When Hamas is finally mentioned more than halfway through the film, there is a denial that there was a Hamas presence at all in these hospitals. The IDF did not reveal its sources or how it knew for sure that hospitals like al Ahli or al Shifa were being used as Hamas command centers, but it did reveal what media-friendly evidence it could. IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a press conference back on October 27, 2023, that the rest of the evidence was shared with the international intelligence community, which corroborated its authenticity. In this video of a France 24 audio-recorded interview, a British doctor who worked at Al-Shifa hospital revealed that there were parts of the hospital used for “non-medical purposes.” HonestReporting also did its own investigation into Al-Shifa Hospital to verify the credibility of evidence that Hamas operated out of it.
5. Al Jazeera claim: The Al-Ahli hospital incident on October 17 was an IDF strike.
Why it’s false: In the early hours after the explosion, many publications, including Al Jazeera, among others, reported false casualty numbers and attributed blame to Israel without waiting for the facts to emerge. Sure enough, Human Rights Watch delivered an initial report of its findings, as well as French military intelligence. Both stated that the casualty figures were wrong, and that it was actually a failed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket that fell in the hospital’s parking lot, not an IDF strike on the hospital itself. But nearly a year later, Al Jazeera chooses to stick to its propaganda … unlike any reliable news source.
The film concludes with the following claim: Israel deliberately targets civilians “in what to many is a disproportionate form of collective punishment.”
The truth: In an urban environment like the Gaza Strip, where Hamas and PIJ position themselves in the midst of residential areas and humanitarian zones, the IDF’s mission of protecting civilians becomes enormously complicated and challenging.
While the IDF aims to minimize the loss of civilian lives and goes to great lengths to achieve this, the harsh reality of war and Hamas’ embedding in the civilian population sadly makes this unavoidable. Yet, as urban warfare expert John Spencer has said, the IDF has gone above and beyond in its methods to minimize harm to civilians.
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 Al Jazeera Promotes Inflammatory Documentary Claiming an IDF War on Gaza Hospitals first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Merz Says Criticism of Israel in Germany Has Become Pretext for Hatred of Jews
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends celebrations of the newly completed renovation of Reichenbach Strasse synagogue in Munich, Germany, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that criticism of Israel was increasingly being used in Germany as a pretext for stoking hatred against Jews.
Speaking at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Central Council of Jews, Merz said that antisemitism had “become louder, more open, more brazen, more violent almost every day” since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the Gaza war.
“‘Criticism of Israel‘ and the crudest perpetrator-victim reversal is increasingly a pretext under which the poison of antisemitism is spread,” he said.
Germany is Israel‘s second biggest weapons supplier after the US, and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, in part because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the “Staatsraison.”
Last month, however, Germany suspended exports of weaponry that could be used in the Gaza Strip because of Israel‘s plan to expand its operations there – the first time united Germany had acknowledged denying military support to its long-time ally.
The decision followed mounting pressure from the public and his junior coalition partner over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In his speech in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz mentioned his about-turn, saying that criticism of the Israeli government “must be possible,” but added: “Our country suffers damage to its own soul when this criticism becomes a pretext for hatred of Jews, or if it even leads to the demand that Germany should turn its back on Israel.”
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Israeli Anti-Missile Laser System ‘Iron Beam’ Ready for Military Use This Year
Iron Beam laser defense system. Photo: X/Twitter screenshot
A low-cost, high-power laser-based system aimed at destroying incoming missiles has successfully completed testing and will be ready for operational use by the military later this year, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Co-developed by Elbit Systems and Rafael Advance Defense Systems, “Iron Beam” will complement Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow anti–missile systems, which have been used to intercept thousands of rockets fired by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, by Hezbollah from Lebanon, and by the Houthis in Yemen.
Current rocket interceptors cost at least $50,000 each while the cost is negligible for lasers, which focus primarily on smaller missiles and drones. “Now that the Iron Beam’s performance has been proven, we anticipate a significant leap in air defense capabilities through the deployment of these long-range laser weapon systems,” the ministry said.
After years in development, the ministry said it tested Iron Beam for several weeks in southern Israel and proved its effectiveness in a “complete operational configuration by intercepting rockets, mortars, aircraft, and UAVs across a comprehensive range of operational scenarios.”
The first systems are set to be integrated into the military‘s air defenses by year-end, it said.
Shorter-range and less powerful laser systems are already in use.
Iron Beam is a ground-based, high-power laser air defense system designed to counter aerial threats, including rockets, mortars, and UAVs.
“This is the first time in the world that a high-power laser interception system has reached full operational maturity,” said defense ministry Director-General Amir Baram.
Rafael Chairman Yuval Steinitz said that Iron Beam, which is built with the company’s adaptive optics technology, “will undoubtedly be a game-changing system with unprecedented impact on modern warfare.”
For its part, Elbit was working on the development of high-power lasers for other military applications, “first and foremost an airborne laser that holds the potential for a strategic change in air defense capabilities,” CEO Bezhalel Machlis said.
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Iran and European Ministers Make Little Progress as Renewed UN Sanctions Loom, Diplomats Say
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian and European ministers made little progress in talks on Wednesday aimed at preventing international sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program being reimposed at the end of this month, two European diplomats and one Iranian diplomat said.
Britain, France, and Germany, the so-called E3, launched a 30-day process at the end of August to reimpose UN sanctions. They set conditions for Tehran to meet during September to convince them to delay the “snapback mechanism.”
The offer by the E3 to put off the snapback for up to six months to enable serious negotiations is conditional on Iran restoring access for UN nuclear inspectors – who would also seek to account for Iran‘s large stock of enriched uranium – and engaging in talks with the US.
The status of Iran‘s enriched uranium stocks has been unknown since Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.
TALKS WITH EUROPEANS FOLLOWED ACCORD WITH IAEA
Wednesday’s phone call between the E3 foreign ministers, the European Union foreign policy chief, and their Iranian counterpart followed an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency last week on resuming cooperation, including, in principle, the inspection of nuclear sites.
Several Western diplomats have said, however, that the accord is not detailed enough, sets no timeframe and leaves the door open for Iran to continue stonewalling.
There has also been no indication of a willingness from Iran to resume talks with Washington.
Iran says it is still refining how it will work with the IAEA.
In the call, Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi expressed willingness to reach a “fair and balanced” solution, according to a statement on Iranian state media.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has entered into dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a responsible approach … on how Iran will fulfil its safeguards obligations in the new situation … It is now the turn of the opposing parties to use this opportunity to continue the diplomatic path and prevent an avoidable crisis,” Araqchi said.
GERMANY SAYS IRAN HAS NOT MET CONDITIONS
Germany’s foreign ministry said on X that the E3 had “underscored that Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to reach an extension of Resolution 2231,” adding that sanctions would be reimposed unless there were “concrete actions in the coming days.”
The sanctions would hit Iran‘s financial, banking, hydrocarbons, and defense sectors.
Four European diplomats and an Iranian official said before the call that the most likely scenario would be the E3 going ahead with a reimposition of sanctions.
An Iranian diplomat said Tehran had reiterated that it would retaliate if the decision to restore UN sanctions was made.
“The understanding in Tehran is that the UN sanctions will be reimposed. That is why Tehran refuses to give concessions,” an Iranian official said.
The West says the advancement of Iran‘s nuclear program goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran says it wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.