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Deceit: Reuters, AP, NYT Photos of Gaza Hospital Leave Hamas Out of the Frame
November 2023: An Israeli soldier helps to provide incubators to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Photo: Screenshot
At the outset of the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza photojournalists working for the international media operated near Hamas terrorists in Shifa Hospital — but excluded them from their photos, according to a visual analysis by HonestReporting.
The analysis, which reveals an alarming photo bias, focused on one day of coverage — October 11, 2023 — and showed that tens of Hamas terrorists were present at the hospital, where they kept a watchful eye over the media and managed the arrival of wounded into the emergency room.
The terrorists were clearly seen in wire service videos and social media posts from that day. But they don’t appear in the still photos distributed by Reuters, AP, or The New York Times, whose photojournalists at the site chose to leave the terrorists out of the frame and include only the wounded and dead.
Videos Vs. Photos
The analysis compared photos and videos taken on the same day and location by wire service photojournalists in Gaza. That’s because a picture may be worth a thousand words, but one can only see what’s inside the frame.
Videos, however, are dynamic. Video cameras can tilt and pan and reveal what’s outside the frame of a frozen still photo. It’s also harder to edit people out of videos.
Therefore, after we came across this Facebook reel from photojournalist Mariam Dagga (who currently works for the AP), we decided to compare photos and videos of Shifa hospital that were published by the mainstream media. That’s because the reel shows the hospital entrance was infested with Hamas forces, while dozens of journalists stood by.
We found another angle of this video in a TRT X post, which clarified it had been taken on October 11, 2023 — several days after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in Israel and abducted hundreds into Gaza — some of them straight into the Shifa hospital, where the terror group had an underground tunnel infrastructure. (See our Interactive Hamas tunnel map for more information.)
Then, a search on the Reuters and AP platforms revealed that the two wire agencies had sent video and stills crews to the hospital that day.
But while the videographers couldn’t avoid showing Hamas operatives both inside and outside the hospital, the still photographers only took tight images of blood-stained victims.
And here are some still photos taken by Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem with no terrorists in sight:
Compromised Photojournalists
This photo bias may be explained by the fact that Salem has been honored by Hamas in the past. But it is alarming that no editor noticed the discrepancy between the videos and pictures.
The same issue is apparent in the AP’s coverage at Shifa Hospital on the same date. The video shows Hamas people, one of them masked, managing the entry of wounded into the emergency room:
But the still photos, taken by Ali Mahmoud, only show victims of Israeli strikes:
This, too, comes as no surprise, because on October 7, 2023, Mahmoud was side by side with Hamas as he documented the abduction of Israeli hostages into Gaza.
The Reuters video also shows New York Times photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf, who stood at the entrance to the hospital, with a direct line of sight to Hamas operatives:
But instead of reporting the presence of Hamas forces at the hospital that day — which would have validated Israel’s claims against the terror group — she published a photo of Palestinians mourning their dead at the hospital along with an article about the “nightmare” that Gazans were going through:
Predictable as well, because Abu Elouf has been honored as a Hamas “work partner” in an official ceremony back in 2021.
Hiding the Truth
All of the above is a case study of just one day of coverage.
If this kind of manipulation has been going on since the beginning of the war, it’s clear that many photojournalists in Gaza shill for Hamas — out of fear or willingness.
By hiding the truth and erasing Hamas from the visuals, not only do they betray their professional mission of reporting the facts, but they also help Hamas perpetrate the war crime of hiding behind human shields in medical facilities.
Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. But in Gaza, what’s outside the frame is worth much more.
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 Deceit: Reuters, AP, NYT Photos of Gaza Hospital Leave Hamas Out of the Frame 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.