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Hamas ‘Tones the Theatrics Down,’ New York Times Claims From Gaza
Armed Palestinian carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via Reuters Connect
“Hamas tones the theatrics down a notch at the latest hostage release” is the online headline over an item published by the New York Times.
The headline appears over a photograph that renders the words ridiculous. The picture features five gun-brandishing fighters costumed in military vests, camouflage uniforms, black facemasks, red-and-white Italian-restaurant-tablecloth-style checked keffiyehs, and green Hamas headbands. Behind them is a tightly packed audience of mostly young and male spectators. There’s no need for such a show of force in connection with a hostage release; the point is for Hamas propaganda to make it appear that, rather than being nearly vanquished, the terrorist organization still exists as a strong, organized, well-equipped fighting force.
What kind of warped editorial mind surveys a scene that grotesque and makes the judgement that the news to be emphasized is that the theatrics have been toned down?
The item was a product of the Times “live” desk that provides continuously updated coverage of breaking news events for the Times website. It carries the bylines of Aaron Boxerman and Saher Alghorra. Alghorra is also credited with taking the photograph in Khan Younis, Gaza. Perhaps he has a reasonable fear that if the headline said, “Hamas turns hostage turnover into a cruel circus,” the gunmen from the terrorist organization would make him their next target. The Times itself has previously conceded that “Hamas restricts journalists in Gaza,” making it reasonable for readers to wonder what restrictions Alghorra was subject to in his photographing and reporting.
“Live” coverage gives readers more speed, but in this case, it seems to have come at the expense of thoughtful judgment and editorial standards. The real story isn’t that Hamas has “toned down” the theatrics from some previously absurd level. The real story is that the hostage releases are being accompanied by such violent public spectacles in the first place.
The media watchdog group Honest Reporting was having none of it. Honest Reporting posted to social media: “Actually, @nytimes, parading tortured, terrified hostages on stage isn’t ‘theatrics,’ and it sure wasn’t ‘toned down.’ It was even worse — Hamas doubled down on the humiliation with sick ‘personalized gifts’ like an hourglass taunting a hostage’s mother.”
It is a challenge when covering a horrible terrorist organization to maintain perspective. And I guess in some theoretical journalism class sort of way one can debate whether the proper bar of comparison is such a group’s previous atrocious behavior or normal, non-terrorist behavior. Yet a headline like “tones the theatrics down a notch,” is an example of what George W. Bush used to call the soft bigotry of low expectations. Rather than asking why Hamas took Israeli civilian hostages in the first place, and why it has taken so long for Hamas to release them, and why the releases are being accompanied by displays of military force, the Times headline-writer chooses to focus on the appearance of this hostage release being slightly less barbaric than the previous one.
It appears as if the Times headline is celebrating some sort of newfound praiseworthy civility or improved behavior by Hamas. That’s grossly inappropriate, under the circumstances.
I’ve been skeptical in the past of the practice of dunking on Times online headlines that are later revised for print, and in this case, the print editors had the better judgment to avoid using in print the headline that appeared to be almost praising Hamas for toning down the theatrics. Yet at a certain point, there have been enough bad online breaking news headlines that it’s become a pattern. If the Times placed a higher priority on its reputation and credibility, it’d tone its own carelessness down a notch.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.
The post Hamas ‘Tones the Theatrics Down,’ New York Times Claims From Gaza 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.