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Israel Airlifts Aid. The Media Airlifts Blame

A US soldier leaves a cordoned-off area as other troops work on a beached vessel, used for delivering aid to Palestinians via a new US-built pier in Gaza, after it got stuck trying to help another vessel behind it, on the Mediterranean coast in Ashdod, Israel, May 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The general media narrative on Israel’s decision to allow airdrops of aid and its action to “improve” the humanitarian situation in Gaza were an admission of guilt. They claimed that Israel had finally seen the error of its evil ways after mounting international pressure.
Yet, the demonization still remained — because on top of saying that Israel was “making right” and finally taking responsibility, there was an accusation that it was also just trying to placate the international community with some useless show of public effort to deliver aid from the sky.
But the truth? Israel’s public shaming of the UN worked, and now about 50% of the aid that was left to rot on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing has been collected, a deal for safe passage for that aid was made between the UN and Israel, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing, and — on top of that — Israel, Jordan, and the UAE resumed airdrops.
And let’s get the facts straight here. The current humanitarian crisis in Gaza is Hamas’ responsibility.
You wouldn’t know that from Western media, though.
This was the theme of Jeremy Bowen’s portrayal for the BBC. It’s evidence that no matter what Israel does, there will always be an issue:
While Israel continues to insist it is not responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and does not impose restrictions on aid entering Gaza, those claims are not accepted by its close allies in Europe, or the United Nations and other agencies active in Gaza.
The new measures might be a tacit admission by the Israelis that they need to do more.
More likely they are a gesture to allies who have issued strong statements blaming Israel for starvation in Gaza.
In other words, Israel’s carrying out airdrops of humanitarian aid had an ulterior agenda and was a silent admission of guilt — nothing more.
Not to mention, Bowen has relieved Hamas of responsibility, and made it an uninvolved party (because why hold a terror group that oppresses the people it rules responsible?).
The only times Hamas is mentioned are when it condemns Israel for trying to deceive the international community and to dismiss claims by the IDF about Hamas systematically stealing aid.
Bowen goes on to describe his experience with airdrops post-Gulf War. To legitimize his perspective, he starts this way:
Air dropping aid is an act of desperation. It can also look good on television, and spread a feel-good factor that something, at last, is being done.
Yes, this is clearly a desperate situation, as the world is insisting. Israel is doing what it can to help improve the situation, and this may also be the most efficient and quickest way to deliver aid to certain areas of the Strip:
Professionals involved in relief operations regard dropping aid from the sky as a last resort. They use it when any other access is impossible. That’s not the case in Gaza. A short drive north is Ashdod, Israel’s modern container port. A few more hours away is the Jordanian border, which has been used regularly as a supply line for aid for Gaza.
Unfortunately, it seems like other ways of delivering aid hadn’t panned out any better until now.
It’s unclear what is meant by listing the Ashdod port or the Jordanian border as options for aid delivery, but here are some quick reminders:
- The Western media and the UN have complained when aid has to be driven through Gaza as the trucks get looted. Bowen ignores that the UN had been declining Israeli protection for aid in transit until last week. His silence absolves the UN for its own guilt in this mess.
- The media and the UN will also say that it’s a deadly mission for Gazans to retrieve aid themselves, as reports of dozens killed per day have been headlining newspapers since May.
- And remember the US pier that brought in tons of aid? Most of that aid just sat to rot.
Perhaps the idea is to try to get aid to the people who need it in any way possible? Airdrops are evidently flawed and some of the aid likely falls into the wrong hands, but it’s worth a try.
Another report by Sky News on Sunday frames Israel as a bad actor by backing airdrops, which aid agencies like the UN say are insufficient and dangerous. Meanwhile, Jordan and the UAE were involved aside from Israel, and the operation was backed by the UK. But the goal seems always to paint Israel as a bad actor.
A subsequent article from Monday emphasizes the UN stance against airdrops. Field correspondent Sally Lockwood explains how they are “fraught with problems” and a “desperate last resort.”
But when Lockwood reports from a Jordanian plane, she explains the safety precautions taken to ensure prevention of casualties on the ground, as well as admitting that although the amount of aid is not enough, “it’s something.”
As extensive reports from The New York Times, BBC, NBC, and many others have been urging dire need of aid to the Gaza Strip, and photos of emaciated children are circulating through the media, the particulars of how aid is being distributed are being twisted and exaggerated to fit a narrative that Israel is waging war on Gazan women and children. Israel is portrayed as having malicious intent to starve civilians to death and humiliate them as they try to survive.
Google is a Fantastic Tool
While the UN and the media criticize airdrops over Gaza, let’s take a moment to recognize that the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) carries out airdrops on its own in South Sudan, for example. It gets almost no media coverage, and when it does, it’s covered as an “unconventional,” “expensive,” and “complex” operation, but it’s the “last resort” and therefore necessary due to fighting blocking roadways to certain areas.
There is no controversy, no denial, and no excuses. Just WFP doing what it needs to do in order to get aid to those in need.
It’s always interesting when war zones — while catastrophic, are recognized as war zones. By nature, aid may be difficult to deliver. The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is no different.
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.
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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.