RSS
Hamas Is Not ‘Militant’: The Media’s ‘Terrorist’ Cover-Up
Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah in January 2017. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90.
There’s a well-known quote that goes: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”
Evidently, many media outlets subscribe to this relativistic worldview. Yet this line is from a novel — a work of fiction — and is of no relevance to the media’s responsibility to relay information to news consumers in an objective manner.
By incessantly referring to Hamas as a militant group (See here, here, here, here, and here) the world’s premiere outlets are effectively burying the character, methods of operation, and true goals of the Gaza-based movement that has been officially designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and dozens of other countries around the world.
BBC’s and NYT’s “Terrorist” Blindside
To the casual reader, the issue of accurately describing Hamas could be perceived as a mere matter of semantics. But it became a hot-button topic following the October 7 attack by the terrorist group against Israel. So much so that Israeli President Isaac Herzog blasted the BBC – which refuses to term Hamas as terrorist even though the UK proscribes the group’s military wings as terror organizations.
In his meeting with then-British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Herzog told the UK premier: “We feel that the way the BBC characterizes Hamas is a distortion of the facts. We are dealing with one of the worst terror organizations in the world…there has to be an outcry so that there will be a correction, and Hamas will be defined as a terror organization.”
The reluctance to call a spade a spade isn’t confined to the British press. The New York Times is another serial offender. A review by HonestReporting of a recent interview with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken found that the term Israel appeared 104 times in the transcripts, while Hamas made 34 appearances. The term terror (or terrorism or terrorist) shows up a grand total of zero times.
Indeed, the only time you’re likely to see the terms terror or terrorism in connection to Hamas is in quotation marks, since they’re almost invariably taken from an Israeli source — providing a way for journalists to distance themselves from supposedly biased Israeli officials.
“Terrorist” Vs. “Militant”: A Distinction With Major Differences
There is undoubtedly some overlap between militants and terrorists. For example, they both engage in violence in order to achieve their goals. But there are important distinctions. The motives and actions of a designated terrorist organization are unique.
While there is no international consensus on the definition of terrorism, it’s broadly understood to be the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. Every government has its own interpretation of terrorism. According to the United States State Department:
For the purpose of the Order, “terrorism” is defined to be an activity that (1) involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure; and (2) appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, kidnapping, or hostage-taking.
By describing Hamas as a mere militant group, media outlets are downplaying the very acts that made the October 7 attack so horrific: The targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure; the use of civilians as human shields; and the taking of non-combatants as hostages. It’s also worth noting that these crimes against humanity were all “…central aims of the planned attack, and not actions that occurred as an afterthought or as a plan gone awry or as isolated acts.”
Not calling out Hamas for the terrorist organization it is has had far-reaching consequences beyond a battle over terminology.
Because Hamas is widely depicted as a militant group, agenda-driven media personalities like Mehdi Hasan have found a way to perpetuate false analogies between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with the Gaza-based terrorist organization.
Though the disparity between the two situations could not be more striking, Hamas gains support and legitimacy whenever it’s compared to a UN-member state that was invaded.
The whitewashing of Hamas can also be discerned in the way many prominent publications describe the group’s most powerful members. After Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, The Wall Street Journal called him a “leading advocate for a ceasefire,” while Reuters and The Guardian labeled him a “moderate.”
In fact, Haniyeh was designated a “global terrorist” by the US, and responsible for heinous acts against civilians.
And when Hamas’ true terrorist nature is covered up, burying their true aims becomes that much easier. The Wall Street Journal stated in October 2023 that the internationally-recognized terror organization is “dedicated to the creation of an independent Palestinian state” and that it has “indicated it is willing to accept a two-state solution….” The truth is, the group is openly committed to the destruction of Israel. This has been expressed in Hamas’ 1988 founding charter, as well as numerous statements by Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh and Saleh Al-Arouri.
Media Not Adjusting to New Realities After October 7
While media outlets don’t want to be accused of taking sides in the Israel-Hamas war, governments have. Switzerland in December 2024 officially declared that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Argentina became the first state in Latin America to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization, in a move announced by President Javier Milei in July 2024.
These and other governments adjusted their policies regarding Hamas in response to the horrors perpetrated by the terrorist outfit on October 7, 2023. There is a growing recognition that the threat Hamas represents is global, and must not be ignored any longer.
Yet far too many news organizations continue to treat Hamas with kid gloves. By not describing Hamas as a designated terrorist group, news publications have effectively normalized it.
Gidon Ben-Zvi, former Jerusalem Correspondent for The Algemeiner, is an accomplished writer who left Hollywood for Jerusalem in 2009. He and his wife are raising their four children to speak fluent English – with an Israeli accent. Ben-Zvi’s work has appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, The Algemeiner, American Thinker, The Jewish Journal, Israel Hayom, and United with Israel. Ben-Zvi blogs at Jerusalem State of Mind (jsmstateofmind.com). 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 Hamas Is Not ‘Militant’: The Media’s ‘Terrorist’ Cover-Up first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
IDF Denies Troops Fired on Civilians After Incidents of Settler Violence
Illustrative. Israeli troops during counterterrorism activity in Tulkarem, northwestern Samaria, September 2024. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – The IDF released a statement after an incident during which Israeli soldiers opened fire on Israeli civilians in the West Bank on Saturday night, denying that the trooped fired live ammunition.
This comes at the heels of arson incidents by settlers against Palestinian villages, with clashes breaking out. The IDF said that its soldiers had come under attack on Friday as they entered the area of Kafr Malik, the site of the disturbances, by Israeli civilians. “The undermining of the rule of law and the use of violence by a radical minority harm security and stability in the area.”
The IDF later said that “an initial investigation indicates that IDF forces did not fire live ammunition at Israeli civilians in the area. It should be clarified that the battalion commander’s force operating in the Baal Hatzor area of the Binyamin brigade did not fire live ammunition at all.” On the other hand, the civilians claimed this was false, posting a video that showed shell casings on the ground right next to where the troops were deployed.
Meanwhile, the police requested the remand of six individuals, two of whom are minors, to be extended in connection with the incident.
The IDF later said that, “in another area within the sector, stones were thrown at a military vehicle near the site of the clash by masked individuals from an ambush. The force responded with a warning shot of three bullets.” A possible connection “between this incident and the claim that an Israeli civilian was injured by live fire” is being investigated.
After the incidents late last week, the IDF issued an unusual directive for soldiers to exercise special vigilance and also prepare for scenarios involving nationalist incidents perpetrated by Israeli citizens. The directive was issued after a military vehicle was set on fire inside a Jewish settlement, the tires of an armored David vehicle were punctured, and a community policing caravan near the community of Beit El was also set on fire.
“The security establishment system is highly alert,” a security official told i24NEWS. “We are seeing an escalation on the ground – and if you cannot leave a military vehicle in a Jewish community without it being burned in the sector, it is a sign that the situation is dangerous.”
The post IDF Denies Troops Fired on Civilians After Incidents of Settler Violence first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Orders Evacuations in Northern Gaza as Trump Calls for War to End
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages.
But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe.
“The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations,” the military said.
The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army’s bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives arrived to pay their respects to white-shrouded bodies before they are buried.
“A month ago, they (Israel) told us to go to Al-Mawasi (in Khan Younis) and we stayed there for a month, it is a safe zone,” said Zeyad Abu Marouf. He said three of his children were killed and a fourth was wounded in the Israeli airstrike.
“We ask God and the Arabs to move and end this occupation and the injustice taking place against us,” Abu Marouf told Reuters.
NEW CEASEFIRE PUSH
The military escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
There has also been rising concern over how aid is being distributed to Gazans in the ruined enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end the war if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
The post Israel Orders Evacuations in Northern Gaza as Trump Calls for War to End first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet Against Ukraine, Kills F-16 Pilot
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
i24 News – Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 537 drones and missiles against targets throughout Ukraine overnight between Saturday and Sunday, in what what described as the largest attack of the war.
Poland activated aerial defenses and scrambled jets as the six-hour onslaught continued. One Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed as Kyiv attempted to intercept the missiles and drones, with 475 shot down.
“Tragically, while repelling the attack, our F-16 pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, died. Today, he destroyed seven aerial targets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Ustymenko did everything possible, but his jet was damaged and started losing altitude,” the air force said, as quoted in Politico. “He died like a hero!”
The cities of Cherkasy, Lviv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv were targeted.
The Russia attack came after Ukraine attacked the Kirovske airfield in the Crimean Peninsula, targeting air defenses, drones, and even destroying several helicopters and an air defense system.
The post Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet Against Ukraine, Kills F-16 Pilot first appeared on Algemeiner.com.