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Media Accused Israel of ‘Strike’ on Palestinians Who Died in Gaza City Aid Truck Stampede
An UNRWA aid truck at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Early on February 29, crowds of Palestinians had gathered in Gaza City ahead of an expected delivery by a convoy of aid trucks.
Witnesses described scenes of pandemonium, as hordes of people trampled each other as they swarmed the vehicles when they arrived at around 4 am.
According to the IDF, which released satellite imagery of the incident, dozens of Palestinians were killed in the stampede, while others died as a result of being hit by the aid trucks in the city’s Rimal neighborhood.
Israeli military officials also said that up to 10 Palestinians died when the IDF was forced to open fire on a group that rushed toward them.
When officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave announced what had occurred, they did what they have done repeatedly since the outbreak of war on October 7 — lied to an international media that they knew would uncritically broadcast the falsehood to millions worldwide.
And that is how it came to be that last Thursday — hours after the incident — the Associated Press failed to do even the bare minimum of fact-checking and announced in a headline that an Israeli “strike on Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza” had killed and wounded dozens.
This is just a snapshot of how media such as @AP & @France24_en trust Hamas claims and end up spreading falsehoods around the globe with real-life consequences.
Update: IDF probe says Israeli gunfire caused only some 10 casualties out of the hundreds of people allegedly hurt and… https://t.co/TDD6PYHNtq pic.twitter.com/lUzVwYIdfR
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 29, 2024
The report opened: “An apparent Israeli strike on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday has killed and wounded dozens, according to local hospital officials.”
While the Associated Press later updated its story, the damage was done: countless people saw a headline that accused Israel of striking innocent Palestinians simply waiting for aid trucks.
If @AP relies on unverified information from “Gaza officials,” i.e. Hamas, you get inaccurate and inflammatory headlines like this.
It was no “strike.”
According to the IDF, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and shoving as they attempted to loot the aid… pic.twitter.com/cLbk24LC1i
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 29, 2024
Meanwhile, France 24 also ran with claims of an Israeli strike and rushed off a headline that claimed: “Dozens killed in strike on crowd waiting for aid in Gaza City.”
The effect of the AP — which has partnerships with the world’s biggest media organizations — publishing such a wildly inaccurate claim cannot be understated.
Any inaccuracy by one of the major wire agencies is liable to be repeated by numerous newspapers and news websites everywhere.
The media rushed to report Hamas’ false claim that the IDF had killed dozens in a strike against Palestinians waiting for aid. But what really happened, and who is responsible?@AP @France24_en @haaretzcom pic.twitter.com/V3Ht9OvYLd
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 2, 2024
When the incorrect stories were eventually updated to more accurately reflect what happened, including removing incendiary claims of an Israeli missile strike, some media outlets still insisted on falsely suggesting that Israeli soldiers firing at innocent people caused most casualties.
The Wall Street Journal, for example, failed to mention the stampede in a headline that simply said Israel had opened fire on Palestinians who were “surrounding” aid trucks.
The Wall Street Journal
The Independent even tacitly defended Hamas in a headline that claimed “dozens of Palestinians” were “apparently” shot by the IDF.
It was only in the sixth paragraph of the piece that readers were told that Israeli officials explained that “many of the fatalities occurred in a chaotic crush to reach the food trucks, and that their troops fired because they believed the crowd posed a threat.”
The Independent.
Delving into other reports published about the incident, it is clear that there is a much deeper problem with the international media reporting on these kinds of occurrences: gullibility. Many wide-eyed journalists are far too willing to print the unverified claims of so-called eyewitnesses, presenting their invariably heartbreaking testimony as the unvarnished truth in news reports. The result is stories like that published by The New York Times, which quotes several individuals. As revealed by the Elder of Ziyon blog, at least one person quoted in the piece, who was described as a 22-year-old “journalist,” does not work for any accredited media outlet and only has an online presence consisting of social media profiles.Similarly, a BBC Verify piece about the incident also quoted a “journalist” named Mahmoud Awadeyah, who investigative journalist David Collier uncovered works for a news outlet linked to the Iranian regime.
Even though Awadeyah’s personal social media profiles were awash with praise for terror attacks against innocent Israelis, the BBC did not think twice about relying heavily on his testimony.
The most worrying part of the whole Gaza City stampede reporting debacle is how much it echoes the infamous al-Ahli Hospital explosion incident, in which media outlets rushed to accuse Israel of a deadly missile strike that was actually the result of a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket.
Back then, we were told that such mistakes would not be repeated; media outlets insisted they would be careful in the future and not make false and incendiary claims before the facts become clear.
How hollow those assurances have proven to be.
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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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
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