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Double Standards as New York Times Accuses IDF of Using Palestinians as Human Shields
Replete with a headline designed to tarnish Israel’s entire military, The New York Times recently published an investigation alleging that IDF soldiers were using Gazans as human shields during operations in the Gaza Strip.
In order to make its case, The New York Times says it “interviewed 16 Israeli soldiers and officials who knew about the practice, as well as three Palestinians, on the record, who were forced to take part in it.”
While the small number of Palestinians are named, the Israelis are not. It is always problematic to present anonymous testimony in a story where we don’t know the motivations behind those who are talking to the journalists.
The Role of ‘Breaking the Silence’
Two of the Israelis, however, were connected to The New York Times through Breaking the Silence, whose motivations are very clear.
The organization, which was founded in 2004 by former IDF soldiers who are highly critical of Israel, claims to “expose the public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories” using testimonies that are purported to be “meticulously researched” while “all facts are cross-checked with additional eyewitnesses.”
However, as its critics have repeatedly alleged, the group appears to frequently rely on “either fabricated or exaggerated” testimonies from former soldiers — some of whom received a salary from Breaking the Silence — and are “motivated by financial and political concerns to further a pro-Palestinian agenda.”
Breaking the Silence also provided two photos to The New York Times for its story. Given the lack of context and the poor visual quality of both photos, it is impossible to confirm whether these images are evidence of anything let alone the captions that allege IDF misdemeanors.
It would be naive to suggest that every soldier in the IDF or any other comparable army behaves in an exemplary fashion.
Only this last September, The New Yorker published a database of what it said is the “largest known collection of investigations of possible war crimes committed [by the US military] in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11—nearly eight hundred incidents in all.”
Some of the alleged crimes include “the case of soldiers raping a fourteen-year-old girl and subsequently murdering her and her family; the alleged killing of a man by a Green Beret who cut off his victim’s ear and kept it; and cruelty toward detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and at the Bagram Air Base detention facility.”
All of this is not to claim that the IDF is necessarily more moral than the American military, although there is certainly a good case to be made. The point is that nobody would condemn the entirety of the US Army as an immoral entity that brings shame to its country despite the behavior of a minority of its troops.
Yet when it comes to New York Times coverage of and investigations into the IDF, it’s impossible to ignore the Gray Lady’s wider agenda that continuously seeks to delegitimize Israeli self-defense against the terrorists who are currently attacking it from multiple fronts.
For example, only days ago, the paper published an article that accused Israel of committing war crimes and “shooting children at point-blank range.” That story also relied on questionable testimonies and even more questionable X-rays purporting to show IDF bullets lodged in the heads of Palestinian children. The very authenticity of the X-rays was called into question, as the entire story was torn apart online.
When it comes to verifying evidence and testimonies, The New York Times isn’t doesn’t exactly cover itself in glory.
Who Actually Uses Human Shields?
But hasn’t The New York Times also investigated Hamas’ use of human shields?
Yes and no.
On September 10, 2024, it published this story:
Yet despite the headline, the term “human shields” does not appear even once in the body of the article.
Nowhere is there an examination of how Hamas deliberately, as a policy, embeds itself within civilian infrastructure as a means of protecting its terrorists and their weaponry from Israel. Nowhere does it address how Hamas leaders are fully prepared to sacrifice innocent Gazans in pursuit of their own sick ideological goals.
Indeed, the entire concept of human shields only works if you are facing an enemy that values human life and is not prepared to toss International Humanitarian Law and the Laws of Warfare into the wind.
Double Standards
But while Israel is committed to upholding those laws, the other side, Hamas plays by different rules.
Of course, the IDF should be held to these standards, and accountability is important to maintain them. That does not, however, give The New York Times a free pass to exercise double standards when it comes to the issue of human shields.
When @nytimes uses individual cases that go against the IDF’s own Code of Ethics to tarnish Israel’s entire army yet fails to address Hamas’ policy of using Gaza’s entire population as human shields, that’s not journalism, it’s a double standard. https://t.co/TnITu8Mmgv
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 14, 2024
Notably, it appears that while The New York Times is content to treat the IDF using human shields as fact, when it comes to Hamas, the terrorist organization’s use of human shields is treated as an Israeli claim — despite evidence from Hamas operatives and leaders confirming this policy.
For example:
“Al-Shifa, Israeli officials have argued, is an example of Hamas’s willingness to use hospitals as cover and turn civilians into human shields.”
“The Israeli military says that Hamas has ‘cynically exploited’ schools, hospitals and shelters, using them as bases and civilians as human shields.”
When asked by The Times of Israel about the Times story, the IDF responded that “the orders and instructions of the IDF forbid using civilians in Gaza who were arrested in the field for military missions,” adding that “The orders and instructions are made clear regularly to soldiers in the field during the war.”
This is key. What The New York Times won’t say is that all of the soldiers who spoke out have the option of reporting what they allege to have seen directly to a functioning investigatory system.
As the IDF explains:
IDF forces are obligated to report incidents that raise suspicion for violations of the law or IDF orders. Any report (submitted by IDF forces or received otherwise), complaint, or allegation that suggests misconduct by IDF forces, undergoes an initial examination process, irrespective of its source.
In certain cases, the report, complaint, or claim received raises prima facie a reasonable suspicion for criminal misconduct (such as concrete allegations that raise a reasonable suspicion of looting or the abuse of detainees). In such cases, the MAG promptly orders to launch a criminal investigation. Criminal investigations of alleged misconduct occurring in the context of operational activity are conducted by a specialized department under the IDF Military Police Criminal Investigation Division, the National Unit for Operational Affairs. The unit’s work is directed by the MAG.
Put simply, there is an Israeli mechanism for investigating the very accusations that The New York Times has highlighted. In addition, Israel benefits from a multitude of civil society organizations and a free press that exists to hold those in power accountable.
The New York Times, however, is only interested in advocating for Palestinian welfare when it sees an opportunity to malign Israel. The IDF is certainly not beyond criticism or reproach. But is it too much to ask for The New York Times to ditch the double standards?
Probably, yes.
The author the Editorial Director of 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 Double Standards as New York Times Accuses IDF of Using Palestinians as Human Shields first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.