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How Newsweek Exploited Pope Francis’ Death to Launder Hamas & Hezbollah’s Crimes Against Christians
Pope Francis listens to a member of the Jewish community during his visit at Rome’s Great Synagogue, Italy January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
As Catholics worldwide mourned the passing of Pope Francis last week, the mainstream media generally followed suit with respectful obituaries and reflections on the pontiff’s legacy. But, as ever, there had to be an exception — and this time, Newsweek eagerly stepped into the role.
Instead of focusing on the global significance of the pope’s passing or the tributes from international leaders, Newsweek’s Middle East correspondent, Amira El-Fekki, took the novel approach of spotlighting reactions from Hamas and Hezbollah — two terrorist groups notorious for violently persecuting Christians across Gaza and Lebanon.
In an April 21 piece headlined, “Hamas Reacts to the Death of Pope Francis,” El-Fekki detailed the “mourning” expressed by the Palestinian Islamist group, emphasizing Hamas’ gratitude for the pope’s past condemnations of humanitarian suffering in Gaza.
According to El-Fekki, Hamas’ condolences mattered greatly because Pope Francis had been “a prominent voice calling for peace and human dignity,” respected by “many Palestinians,” despite most Palestinians being Muslims.
Remarkably, Newsweek’s report avoided inconvenient truths, such as Hamas’ well-documented abuses against Palestinian Christians.
One might expect journalistic integrity to compel at least a brief acknowledgment of Hamas’ treatment of Gaza’s Christian minority. Instead, readers were presented with an image of Hamas as an inclusive, tolerant entity, rather than a jihadist organization responsible for terror attacks and atrocities.
For those unfamiliar with Hamas’ actual relationship with Gaza’s Christian community, consider the reports from independent human rights groups that detail horrific abuses: vandalizing and bombing Christian schools, homes, and institutions, as well as murdering members of the community.
A Canadian NGO even documented Hamas “repeatedly desecrating Christian graves and exhuming bodies to ‘decontaminate’ Palestinian land of Christian corpses they deemed unworthy.”
Yet, astonishingly, Newsweek wasn’t done. Two days later, on April 23, El-Fekki doubled down with another article, this time highlighting the “backlash” Hamas and Hezbollah received for their condolences. In an almost Orwellian inversion, she portrayed these terrorist organizations as moderate voices being targeted by “hardliners.”
El-Fekki wrote, with no apparent sense of irony: “Expressions of regret after the death of Pope Francis from Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Islamist groups have drawn an online backlash from those who take an even harder line.” Thus, Newsweek subtly framed these violent groups as relatively reasonable compared to other, more extreme groups.
The absurdity peaked as El-Fekki quoted critics labeling Hezbollah the “Party of Satan” for mourning the pope, seemingly unaware of the irony of depicting terrorist groups committed to destroying Israel as somehow less than “hardline.”
Perhaps none of this should surprise us, given El-Fekki’s record. A quick scan of the Dubai-based correspondent’s social media reveals repeated allegations against Israel of “genocide” and “massacres” — hardly the profile of an impartial journalist covering complex Middle Eastern dynamics.
In Newsweek’s world, it seems, terrorists mourning a pope is headline-worthy — but their brutal persecution of Christians? Apparently, that’s just too “hardline” to mention.
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 How Newsweek Exploited Pope Francis’ Death to Launder Hamas & Hezbollah’s Crimes Against Christians 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.