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Reuters Uses Coverage of Gaza Ceasefire Deal to Reframe the Israel-Hamas War

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, gather to demand a deal that will bring back all the hostages held in Gaza, outside a meeting between hostage representatives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, January 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

News coverage is often described as “the first draft of history.” And in the case of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, nothing is more true.

As media outlets rushed to summarize the conflict — some successfully and some appallingly — Reuters excelled in the latter category.

The news agency used the Gaza ceasefire deal as an excuse to reframe the entire narrative of the Israel-Hamas war in a way that subtly justified the existence and actions of Hamas — an internationally-designated terror group.

Reuters’ goal was achieved by using biased terminology and one-sided background paragraphs.

And it should come as no surprise given the agency’s Gaza reporters have been exposed by HonestReporting for their cozy relations with Hamas.

Biased Terminology

First, Reuters used the word “detainees” to describe the Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have been jailed for years over terror offenses and violence:

Such wording whitewashes the perpetrators of horrific murders and minimizes their crimes. And the fact that this wording is usually used to describe political detainees further contributes to this distortion.

The word “detainees” also hides the fact that, under Israeli law, they are still guaranteed conditions that do not harm their health or dignity — rights that hostages in Hamas captivity have been deprived of.

But that’s only one strategy used by Reuters to subtly shill for terrorists.

One-Sided Information

The second strategy is the sneaky one-sided editing of background paragraphs or sentences, usually referred to as “boilerplates.”

These have an almost “holy” status in news agency reporting on contested issues. They set the narrative and therefore need to be carefully phrased to include the most balanced background information from all sides.

Yet Reuters’ initial story on the Gaza ceasefire deal included the following summary of the war, which clearly didn’t take into account the Israeli victims:

Even more disturbing is the fact that an editor apparently noticed the flaw, because the phrasing was later changed to: “15 months of bloodshed that devastated the Palestinian enclave” instead of “15 months of conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.” But it still sounds like some lives are more equal than others to Reuters.

Another example is the biased editing of a background paragraph that set the narrative about what triggered the war — the October 7 massacre.

What has always been described as a breach of the Israel-Gaza border was subtly changed to the breaking of “security barriers,” and the word “border” was removed — creating the impression that the terrorists may have acted legitimately.

This was done in a story about Gaza celebrations by the agency’s veteran Gaza reporter, Nidal al-Mughrabi (who is currently based in Cairo).

But the main Reuters report about the ceasefire agreement, by additional non-Gazan reporters and a larger crew of editors, includes a more accurate boilerplate, with the words “border-area communities”:

This appears to prove the bias of the reporter/editor who quietly deleted the word “border” in the first case. But the paragraph in its entirety is still flawed because it leads with Israel’s “invasion” and not with Hamas atrocities, and also makes the 1,200 victims of October 7 look like they were mostly soldiers.

Cozy with Hamas

Sadly, all of this makes sense because prominent Reuters staffers in Gaza, including al-Mughrabi, have had unethical ties with Hamas for quite some time. So they would not want to publish anything that might risk this relationship.

But these tainted ties, exposed by HonestReporting last September, ring louder now: Our exposure unveiled how al-Mughrabi and his colleagues attended a Hamas event for journalists in 2017, where awards were given by none other than Khalil Al-Hayya — current Hamas leader who promised another October 7 after the ceasefire deal was signed:

Reuters’ Nidal al-Mughrabi (circled) sitting with colleagues behind Hamas’ Khalil Al-Hayya, at a 2017 Hamas event in Gaza.

Reuters’ Mohammed Jadallah Salem receiving an award from Hamas’ Khalil Al-Hayya, at a 2017 Hamas event in Gaza.

In other words, Reuters’ reframing of the narrative cannot be fixed without some serious reshuffling of their compromised Gaza team.

But that won’t happen if the agency wants access to figures like Al-Hayya.

Thus, a vicious circle is created– from the tainted Gaza team to newsroom editors who defer to a distorted narrative that excuses the terrorists out of fear or bias.

The misleading terminology and one-sidedness, particularly in huge stories like the Gaza ceasefire deal, are the subtle tools by which this circle is kept intact so that the first draft of history serves the “right” side.

HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post Reuters Uses Coverage of Gaza Ceasefire Deal to Reframe the Israel-Hamas War 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.

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