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Media Ignore and Distort Account of Hostage Mia Schem
The mother of Mia Schem holds up a picture of her daughter who was kidnapped into the Gaza Strip, following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 17, 2023. Hamas has released a video of Schem. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
In mid-October, when many Israeli families didn’t yet know whether their loved ones had been slaughtered or kidnapped by Hamas, media outlets rushed to cover the first Gaza hostage video distributed by the terrorist group.
That hostage was Mia Schem.
But when Schem shared her own account of her captivity in local television interviews after being freed, these media outlets ignored or inaccurately reported it.
The result was the omission and distortion of the testimony of a woman who experienced Hamas’ atrocities firsthand, and has been featured through the lens of terrorist propaganda.
Giving Platform to Hamas
Newsweek was one of the media outlets that dedicated lengthy coverage to Schem’s plight when her hostage video was released on October 16:
The magazine, like most media outlets, was responsible enough to describe the video rather than show it in full.
But nowhere did Newsweek say that the video may have been taken under duress.
Instead, the magazine parroted Hamas propaganda by mentioning twice in one paragraph that in the video, Schem was being treated for her injury. It also included a direct quote of her plea to return home:
In the 60-second long clip, the woman can be seen being treated for a wound above her right elbow by a person off camera, who’s wrapping her arm in bandages. In the next part of the video, Schem addresses the camera directly, speaking in Hebrew. She says that she’s in the Gaza Strip, where she has been treated for her injury, and that she wants to go home.
“I just ask that I am returned as fast as possible to my family, to my parents, and to my siblings,” she said. “Please get us out of here as quickly as possible.”
Despite mentioning the Israeli army’s criticism of the video, Newsweek failed to take an independent stand that questioned its validity, leaving its audience with what Hamas wanted them to hear.
The Guardian’s report wasn’t better.
Although it included criticism of the video by various officials and added a weak caveat suggesting it was “unclear” whether it had been taken under duress, the outlet gave a wide platform to Schem’s words about receiving medication and being “well treated”:
In the video, the first released by Hamas of a hostage allegedly speaking from captivity, Schem said she was being held in Gaza, was being well treated and appealed for her release.
But all the questions that may have initially arisen about Schem were answered last weekend, when she shared her own account of events on local Israeli media.
In her interviews aired on December 29 on Israeli channels 12 and 13, Schem emphasized that she had been forced to make the video, and that the medical “treatment” in it was a mere show.
She said she didn’t receive any painkillers for her arm injury, and that she had to change bandages by herself throughout her time in captivity.
Yet both Newsweek and The Guardian, which echoed her Hamas-controlled narrative, chose to ignore her story as a free person. Since the outlets didn’t think this merited an update to their original pieces, whoever reads those stories will still gets the false impression that Hamas treats its hostages humanely.
Other media outlets that covered Schem’s hostage video made the right decision to report on her interviews with Israeli channels.
But some outlets, while detailing her harrowing account, either distorted what she had said about her fear of being raped, or omitted it altogether.
AP reported that Schem said she was afraid that her captor “might try to harm her,” when she actually used the word “rape:”
.@AP reports that Israeli hostage Mia Schem was afraid that her captor “might try to harm her.”
Her actual words described her fear of being raped. Not “harmed.”
How, AP, is diminishing the threat of a Palestinian sexual crime acceptable reporting?https://t.co/VAcdCoHGSQ pic.twitter.com/VvQ4XbbZwV
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 31, 2023
The New York Times did not mention her saying it at all, but it should have highlighted it, especially after the publication of the newspaper’s investigative piece regarding Hamas’ sexual violence during its October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
In her interviews, Schem made several points that deserved to be mentioned — from her injury, to her starvation and constant fear in captivity.
But in light of recent criticism over the blindness to Hamas’ sexual violence, her comments about fear of rape deserved special attention — as they indeed received from Reuters.
When media outlets choose to cover a subject — like the first publication of a sign of life from a Gaza hostage — they should be committed to following up on it. Failing to do so leaves their audience with a partial story, which in Schem’s case was Hamas’ story.
When media outlets distort or omit essential details from a personal testimony, they undermine the witness’ narrative and rob their audience of the full picture.
But the worst is that media, in all these instances, betray their commitment to the truth.
The post Media Ignore and Distort Account of Hostage Mia Schem first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.