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Shawarma, Smoothies And … Starvation? New York Times Prints Most Contradictory Gaza Claims Yet
Is it possible for a population to be starving while people eat a hot chicken shawarma topped with homemade garlic sauce?
If you’re a New York Times journalist, then the answer is absolutely.
In “Coffee, Juice, Shawarma: Tiny Traces of Normal Life in a Ruined Gaza,” the Times attempts to showcase life in the Gaza Strip, where it says most residents are “struggling just to survive Israel’s assault on Hamas,” with experts predicting “imminent” famine.
But then the article takes an oddly contradictory turn, painting a strikingly different picture of Gaza life: one of long lines at Chef Warif, a well-known eatery in northern Gaza, where customers queue for “Syrian-style shawarma sandwiches” wrapped in flatbread and topped with the restaurant’s signature garlic sauce.
Chef Warif, located in Gaza City — the same northern area repeatedly described by the publication as on the brink of famine — is thriving. This is the region where, according to recent New York Times eports like “In Northern Gaza, Hunger Looms Over Daily Existence’ and ‘U.N.-Backed Panel Warns Action Needed in Days to Avert Gaza Famine,” even milk and water are in desperately short supply.
And yet, The New York Times now paints a picture of families queueing up for shawarma, not survival.
Welcome to the @nytimes’ Gaza—a place where people can be simultaneously “starving under a near-total siege” yet somehow still lining up for shawarma in flatbread, complete with signature garlic sauce. Their main gripe? The meat is from frozen.
The NYT mentions “hopelessly… https://t.co/F8i2rpCLuf pic.twitter.com/5JdXD9gU1f
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 18, 2024
The New York Times notes the restaurant owner is forced to buy meat “frozen and at steep prices from traders importing it to the Gaza Strip,” which raises the question: why is food so expensive in Gaza when humanitarian aid is entering the territory daily?
And, if frozen meat is being imported, why is Israel being accused of preventing goods from crossing the border?
On November 18 — the same day this piece was published — 137 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza, and over 800 trucks are queued at the border, awaiting pickup by international organizations for distribution.
The real reason for skyrocketing food prices? Hamas.
Since the start of the war, Hamas has stolen vast quantities of humanitarian aid, hoarding it and selling it at grossly inflated prices.
This isn’t speculation; even The New York Times has previously reported how “Hamas has stolen, or tried to steal, aid shipments for its own use,” with accounts of terrorists shooting and beating Palestinians who attempt to take food supplies.
But in this piece, The New York Times conveniently glosses over these facts, indulging instead in contradictions.
On one hand, we’re told that Gaza’s streets are strewn with “rotting carcasses of horses and dogs,” with the “ground slick with sewage.” Yet just a few sentences later, we’re introduced to a city center where Palestinians sit under “shady trees,” sipping “freshly squeezed mango juice or avocado smoothies,” and chatting over coffee.
The article also insists that Gaza is “starving under a near-total Israeli siege” that has “blocked all but a dribble of aid and commercial supplies.”
Yet somehow, “Zain’s dessert stand” is bustling, with families lining up for sweet treats. How does a territory described as under “near-total siege” sustain booming dessert sales?
These contradictions highlight the broader issue with the New York Times’ reporting. This is the same outlet that repeatedly accuses the IDF of using Palestinians as “human shields,” but refuses to apply the same term to Hamas, despite extensive evidence — even from Palestinians themselves — that Hamas embeds within civilian infrastructure.
It’s also the same New York Times that produced a flashy interactive feature to demonstrate an apartheid-style inequality on Israel’s road network, but couldn’t spare a ballistics expert to verify dubious X-rays allegedly proving the IDF is shooting Palestinian children in the head. (Fact check, they’re not).
The New York Times’ well-known tagline, “All the News That’s Fit to Print” might be better rewritten as “All the News That Fits Our Narrative.”
And that narrative? As nuanced as ever: “Israel bad, Palestinians good.”
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 Shawarma, Smoothies And … Starvation? New York Times Prints Most Contradictory Gaza Claims Yet first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Says ‘No Place’ for Macron Visit if France Continues With Palestinian State Recognition

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday urged his French counterpart to drop France’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state, saying that French President Emmanuel Macron is not welcome to visit the Jewish state if Paris “persists in its initiative and in efforts that harm Israel’s interests.”
According to a statement from his office, Saar spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, calling on him to reconsider France’s initiative to recognize a Palestinian state.
He warned that such a move would “undermine stability in the Middle East and harm Israel’s national and security interests.”
As long as France proceeds with its planned unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state this month, Saar said that there would be “no place” for Macron to visit Israel.
“Israel seeks good relations with France, but France must respect Israel’s position when it comes to matters essential to its security and future,” the top Israeli diplomat said during their conversation.
Macron plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month as part of its “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” even though nearly 80 percent of French citizens reject the move.
Israeli officials have condemned the initiative, calling it a “reward for terrorism” and warning that it would undermine future diplomatic talks.
Saar has criticized France’s recent actions, accusing it of consistently undermining Israel on the international stage.
More recently, tensions escalated after his French counterpart asserted the Palestinian Authority (PA) had ended its “pay-for-slay” program — a claim the Israeli diplomat firmly rejects as false.
The PA, which has long been riddled with accusations of corruption, has also maintained for years a so-called “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks against Israelis.
Under the policy, the Palestinian Authority Martyr’s Fund makes official payments to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the families of “martyrs” killed in attacks on Israelis, and injured Palestinian terrorists. Reports estimate that approximately 8 percent of the PA’s budget is allocated to paying stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.
Abbas had announced plans to reform the system earlier this year, but the PA has continued to issue payments, with top officials saying they will not deduct any of the funds.
“You speak of the war, but your moves against the State of Israel not only undermine stability and will not bring peace — they prolong the war. And it is no coincidence that Hamas praised them,” Saar said in a post on X, responding to Barrot in a heated public exchange.
“The rest is empty words and illusions. Back in Paris and at conferences, you may believe and promote these illusions. Here, we will not buy them,” the Israeli diplomat continued.
Dear Jean Noël,
I was astonished to read your claim that the Palestinian Authority allegedly “ended” the pay-for-slay payments. The facts on this matter are clear and unequivocal (and I am sure they are also known to French intelligence): The PA simply replaced the old system… https://t.co/r1sxS9nf55
— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 3, 2025
During his conversation with Barrot, Saar also argued that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has avoided holding elections for nearly 20 years due to his limited support among Palestinians, making him an unreliable interlocutor.
Western powers have been negotiating with the PA on conditions for Gaza governance after Hamas is removed from power, while the PA continues to pledge reforms — a strategy experts say is unlikely to succeed given its lack of credibility and ongoing support for terrorism against Israel.
According to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), if an agreement is reached to end the war in Gaza, only 40 percent of Palestinians “support the return of the PA to managing the affairs of the Gaza Strip,” while 56 percent oppose it.
US officials have also condemned France’s initiative to recognize a Palestinian state, arguing that the move would do little to advance peace.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has warned other countries that recognizing a Palestinian state would only create more problems.
“We told all these countries, we told them all, we said if you guys do this recognition stuff it’s all fake, it’s not even real, if you do it you’re going to create problems,” Rubio said during a press conference in Ecuador.
“There’s going to be a response, it’s going to make it harder to get a ceasefire and it may even trigger these sorts of actions that you’ve seen, or at least these attempts at these actions,” the US official continued, referring to Israel’s plans to consider annexation in the West Bank.
Dear @jnbarrot,
Listen to @SecRubio words.
You know it’s true.
Don’t whitewash “pay for slay”.
Don’t whitewash PA crimes! pic.twitter.com/EMJeGDZivE— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 4, 2025
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Sen. Tom Cotton Urges FBI to Investigate Palestinian Youth Movement Leader Who Called for Targeting F-35 Program

US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate a pro-Hamas activist who urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of America’s most advanced military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday, Cotton warned that Aisha Nizar, a leader and organizer of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), “directly endangered US national security” when she addressed a Palestinian conference in Detroit last week. Durin the event, Nizar told attendees that targeting “nodes” in the F-35 production process could have “a huge impact” on the program.
“We need to be surgical. We need to be strategic … Because there are many different points of these supply chains of death that we can intervene in and we must intervene in,” Nizar said at the People’s Conference for Palestine.
The F-35 program is widely regarded as a cornerstone of US and allied air power, and Israel is the only country in the Middle East authorized to operate the jets. Cotton argued that calls to undermine the program represent not just anti-Israel activism, but also a direct assault on American workers and defense readiness.
“Nizar’s statements constitute direct incitement of violence against US national security interests by advocating for actions against the men and women who build the F-35,” Cotton wrote. He urged the FBI to “immediately examine Nizar’s actions and take any necessary actions to mitigate the threat.”
PYM has emerged as one of the most radical anti-Israel, pro-Hamas groups in the US since the war in Gaza started, organizing raucous protests targeting Jewish and pro-Israel events across the country.
Nizar has previously faced legal trouble over her role in disruptive protests amid the Israel-Hamas war, including a demonstration that shut down the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Cotton, an outspoken supporter of the US-Israel strategic alliance, said her ties to PYM, which he has accused of harboring antisemitic views and benefiting from questionable tax-exempt donations, warrant closer scrutiny.
“The defense supply chain is a key to our military’s ability to fight and win wars. We must protect that supply chain from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he concluded in his letter.
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Israeli Military Says It Controls 40% of Gaza City, Plans to Expand Operation in Coming Days

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a tent, outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Sept. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi
Israel controls 40 percent of Gaza City, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, as thousands of residents defied Israeli orders to leave in order for soldiers to target Hamas terrorists without civilians in harm’s way.
In Gaza City, Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and are now a few kilometers (miles) from the city center.
“We continue to damage Hamas’s infrastructure. Today we hold 40 percent of the territory of Gaza City,” Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin told a news conference, naming the Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods. “The operation will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days.”
“We will continue to pursue Hamas everywhere,” he said, adding that the mission will only end when Israel‘s remaining hostages are returned and Hamas’s rule ends.
Defrin confirmed that army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told cabinet ministers that without a day-after plan, they would have to impose military rule in Gaza. Far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been pushing for Israel to impose military rule in Gaza and establish settlements there, which Netanyahu has so far ruled out.
Israel launched the offensive in Gaza City on Aug. 10, in what Netanyahu says is a plan to defeat Hamas terrorists in the part of Gaza where Israeli troops fought most heavily in the war’s initial phase.
The campaign has prompted international criticism because of the humanitarian crisis in the area and has provoked unusual levels of concern within Israel, including accounts of tension over strategy between some military commanders and political leaders.
The Israeli military has said it is operating on the outskirts of Gaza City to dismantle terrorists’ tunnels and locate weapons.
Much of Gaza City was laid to waste in the war’s initial weeks in October-November 2023. About a million people lived there before the war, and hundreds of thousands are believed to have returned to live among the ruins, especially since Israel ordered people out of other areas and launched offensives elsewhere.
Israel, which has now told civilians to leave Gaza City again for their safety, says 70,000 have done so, heading south. Palestinian officials say less than half that number have left and many thousands still lie in the path of Israel‘s advance.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and political rule in neighboring Gaza.
Prospects for a ceasefire and a deal to release the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are thought to still be alive, appear dim.