RSS
Delusional Media Paints Heartwarming Picture of Violent Palestinian Terrorists’ Release in Confused Hostage Coverage
Released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari arrives at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, after being held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in this image obtained by Reuters on Jan. 19, 2025. Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO/Handout via REUTERS
The release of three hostages — Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari — by Hamas in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners dominated international headlines on Sunday.
Despite other significant events, including the pending inauguration of President Donald Trump for his second term and the (brief and anticlimactic) shutdown of TikTok in the United States, the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas unsurprisingly remained at the forefront of global media coverage.
While much of the reporting rightly focused on the emotional reunions between the hostages and their families after 15 months of captivity, several high-profile outlets glossed over what the Palestinian prisoner release actually entails: the release of hundreds of criminals, many convicted of violent crimes — including murder — and members of proscribed terrorist organizations.
Rather than confronting this inconvenient truth, their coverage instead leaned into framing the event as a cause for celebration.
Sky News, for example, quoted Islamic Jihad terrorist Firas Hassan lamenting the difficulties of life in prison after he was, according to them, repeatedly jailed for mere “opposition to the occupation.”
Sky further reassured readers that Hassan was only a member of the group’s “political wing.”
Is @SkyNews clueless or complicit? Do they seriously want readers to believe this Islamic Jihad terrorist was jailed for simply ‘opposing the occupation’? What are the chances his opposition took the form of planning terror attacks on Israeli civilians? pic.twitter.com/ARxETC3twD
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 19, 2025
No country in the world, however, makes a distinction between Islamic Jihad’s so-called “political wing” and its military arm.
Notably, a previous BBC article identified Hassan as “‘active’” in the terrorist organization — responsible for some of the deadliest attacks on Israeli civilian.
Meanwhile, Reuters chose to publish an “explainer” profiling the “prominent” Palestinian prisoners set to be released — a stark reminder that in journalism, words matter.
Referring to convicted, unrepentant murderers as “prominent” is not just a choice but one with consequences. Adjectives like “notorious,” “deadliest,” or “unrepentant” would certainly be more fitting for those who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children.
Instead, Reuters bestowed a veneer of celebrity on these individuals, turning what should have been an informative piece into an exercise in whitewashing terror.
‘Prominent’? Seriously, @Reuters?! How about ‘notorious,’ ‘dangerous,’ or just plain ‘evil’? These aren’t celebrities—they’re terrorists. Some of the most unrepentant, brutal murderers, and this is the word you chose? pic.twitter.com/VE8whv9L3R
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 19, 2025
Similarly, The New York Times’ so-called explainer fell short of providing any meaningful context when it vaguely informed readers that some Palestinians listed in the deal were “serving life sentences,” without elaborating on the crimes behind those sentences.
For example, Mahmud Abu Varda is serving 48 life sentences for masterminding multiple terror attacks, including a 1996 bus bombing in Jerusalem that killed 45 people.
Another prisoner set for release is Zakaria Zubeidi, a notorious Fatah terrorist and former Jenin commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. Zubeidi, arrested in 2019 for his involvement in shootings near Beit El in the West Bank. He played a role in numerous attacks, including a bombing that killed six people at a Likud party branch in Beit Shean during the Second Intifada.
Yet, these critical details were conspicuously absent.
Trust @nytimes to omit WHY these Palestinian prisoners are serving life sentences. Among them are terrorists behind some of the deadliest attacks in Israeli history. A so-called ‘explainer’ that whitewashes Palestinian terrorism. Again. pic.twitter.com/7vJelEhYtN
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 19, 2025
Perhaps the most brazenly tone-deaf coverage came from Sky News, which decided to paint a chilling scene as a “heartwarming” moment.
Posting a video of what it described as “celebrations” in Gaza following news of the ceasefire, Sky shared a clip of a large crowd chanting “Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahud” — a well-known and explicit threat invoking the slaughter of Jews.
Heartwarming indeed, Sky.
They were chanting ‘Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahud’—an explicit threat to slaughter Jews. But for @SkyNews, it was just Palestinians ‘celebrating’ the ceasefire. With reporting like this, how can anyone trust the media? pic.twitter.com/9jjTDwsT1Y
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 19, 2025
Fox News misreported the prisoner numbers, while the UK’s Times of London inexplicably questioned whether Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed –held hostage by Hamas since long before the October 7, 2023, attacks — were truly “hostages,” placing the term in inverted commas.
What else does The Times imagine two men, held against their will for more than a decade, could possibly be?
What fresh hell is this, @thetimes? They are not ‘hostages’ in quotation marks—they ARE hostages. Kidnapped, held captive, and dehumanized by Hamas. Stop sanitizing terrorism. pic.twitter.com/cW51DFbwns
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 19, 2025
The reunions between the hostages and their families should have been moments of pure celebration. Instead, sections of the media chose to compare these two events, presenting both as causes for celebration.
This kind of reporting does not serve the Palestinian cause. Lionizing Palestinian terrorists or excusing their actions only entrenches violence.
For any chance at lasting peace, Palestinian society must reject violence and terrorism — not celebrate those who commit it. Yet, time and again, an infantilizing press gives this death-cult behavior a pass, portraying it as just another side of the story.
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 Delusional Media Paints Heartwarming Picture of Violent Palestinian Terrorists’ Release in Confused Hostage Coverage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.