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How the Media Distorts the IDF’s Preemptive Strike on Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets with top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on July 5, 2024, Lebanon. Photo: Hezbollah Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
In the early hours of Sunday, Israel initiated a preemptive strike to neutralize an imminent and large-scale drone and rocket attack by Hezbollah.
Israeli Air Force jets targeted multiple sites within Lebanese territory — locations that the Iranian-backed terrorist group had prepared for launching their assault. The intended targets of this attack included Israeli civilian areas such as Tel Aviv.
Starting around 5:30 am, Hezbollah boasted that it had launched approximately 320 rockets at northern Israel, targeting areas such as Safed and Acre, along with 11 military bases that had largely been untouched by the Lebanese terror group until now.
The IDF reported that Hezbollah’s attack was significantly less severe than the group claimed, attributing the reduced impact to Israel’s successful preemptive strike on the Hezbollah weapons.
Shortly after Hezbollah carried out what it called “the first phase” of its response to the Israeli operation that killed its second-in-command, Fouad Shukr, the group announced that leader Hassan Nasrallah would address the “Zionist claims” of a preemptive strike in a forthcoming speech.
In short, Hezbollah admitted it had planned a large-scale attack on Israel, which Israel acted to prevent.
“In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”
Listen to an update from IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari, regarding Hezbollah’s plans to attack… pic.twitter.com/fKvbUVSmbT
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 25, 2024
Unfortunately, the coverage from several leading news organizations of Sunday’s escalation exemplified how omitting a single crucial detail can distort the entire narrative.
The New York Times ran an early headline stating: “Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon, which fires rockets at Israel.”
The missing word? Preemptively. Israel preemptively struck launching sites being prepared for an imminent attack just hours later.
The headline’s implication was undoubtedly deliberate the Times presented a skewed image of an aggressive Israel, seemingly provoking a broader regional conflict by needlessly attacking Hezbollah.
Even after Hezbollah confirms it was involved in a major assault against Israel, @nytimes does its best to paint Israel as the aggressor for defending itself.https://t.co/G3i5jfA6tC pic.twitter.com/MbKzyfRxtc
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
This narrative was echoed by The Los Angeles Times and CBS News, with the former downplaying Hezbollah’s drone and rocket strikes, while the latter went as far as to suggest Israel might have both ignited a wider conflict and hindered ceasefire negotiations.
Hezbollah was preparing to launch thousands of rockets & drones at Tel Aviv and central Israel. The IDF launched a preemptive strike to take out the launchers.
And this is the best headline @latimes could come up with. https://t.co/tmSKwOod2R pic.twitter.com/mEBmD2hC3S
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
In one of the more hyperbolic and misleading headlines, the Daily Mail claimed that the Middle East conflict had “explod[ed]” as Israel bombed Lebanon and Hezbollah fired “150 rockets towards the Iron Dome.”
One doesn’t need to be a munitions expert to know that Hezbollah doesn’t aim at the very missile interceptors designed to neutralize its rockets. Israel has been forced to use those defensive weapons to prevent the death of its own people.
Note to @MailOnline: Hezbollah doesn’t fire towards the very Iron Dome interceptors that take out their own rockets.
And Israel isn’t simply dropping bombs inside Lebanon, it’s targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers.#HeadlineFailhttps://t.co/Cj0KCTyTVd pic.twitter.com/8IZcHjBsm7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
Meanwhile, “confused” best describes NPR’s take on the events, as they somehow managed to portray Hezbollah as the victim while simultaneously implying that Lebanon is a party to the ongoing ceasefire talks.
Shocking #HeadlineFail courtesy of @NPR.
This isn’t “Israel attacks, Hezbollah responds.” The terror org was primed to launch a massive barrage when Israel took preventative action.
And the ceasefire talks? They’re about Gaza, not Lebanon.https://t.co/sEgZCZ7WlA pic.twitter.com/bpfbPpOqR4
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
The UK’s Independent further muddled the timeline, implying that Hezbollah’s attack was “retaliation” for Israel’s preemptive strikes — despite the terror group itself stating the opposite.
Finally, BBC News correspondent Jon Donnison, whose history of editorial “slips” while reporting on Israel should have earned him a reassignment far from the region, managed to misstep not once, but twice in his analysis.
He incorrectly referred to Tel Aviv as Israel’s largest city and painted Israel as war-mongering, describing the strikes as potentially the “largest attack on Lebanon” since the 2006 war.
The reality of Israel’s precarious position in the Middle East — surrounded by armed and powerful terrorist entities — is often overlooked by the international media, which prefer to portray Israel as vying for regional dominance.
This reality necessitates Israel’s decisive actions, such as sending jets to strike Hezbollah targets, which are being used to launch rockets and drones at Israeli civilians, like the 12 Druze children tragically killed while playing soccer in Majdal Shams.
By downplaying or omitting the preemptive nature of Israel’s actions, these publications not only mislead but also shift blame from the true aggressor to the defender. This kind of coverage fuels a broader and pernicious agenda, painting Israel as a destabilizing force in the Middle East while undermining its right to self-defense. It’s a dangerous game.
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 the Media Distorts the IDF’s Preemptive Strike on Hezbollah 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.