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The Media Has One Standard for Israel, and a Different Standard for Every Other Country
The law of armed conflict has many detractors, from war criminals like Yahya Sinwar and Vladmir Putin to CNN journalists intent on eroding the law’s meaning and purpose. Case in point for the latter is CNN’s recent article, “At least 30 killed in Israeli strike on two Gaza school shelters: Palestinian Civil Defense,” by Kareem Khadder, Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, and AnneClaire Stapleton.
The article focuses on an Israeli strike which, according to the IDF, targeted Hamas terrorists inside the Hassan Salame and Nasser schools in Gaza City.
CNN cites a Palestinian official in the terrorist-run territory for the claim that the strike left “at least 30 people dead.” The figure was not independently verified by CNN, and the network has consistently omitted from its reporting how Hamas, the ruling terrorist organization, uses rules and intimidation to control what Gazans can and cannot say to the media.
According to an unnamed “local journalist” cited by CNN, the buildings “housed hundreds of displaced people, primarily women and children.” CNN’s reliance on an anonymous source is concerning, given numerous “local journalists” in Gaza have been identified as terrorist operatives. Moreover, the network has a history of describing an official Palestinian Authority propagandist as a “local journalist,” and even employing him to feature on CNN’s own bylines.
Meet Hassan Eslaiah, a freelance journalist for @CNN, @Reuters, @AP in this video he’s on a motorbike, with a grenade in his hand, on his way to the Massacre of innocents in Israel.
pic.twitter.com/OyUyDaSYxd
— CG Idit Shamir (@ShamirIdit) November 9, 2023
These omissions already work to benefit Hamas by amplifying the terrorist organization’s propaganda while leaving the audience in the dark about the reasons to doubt the credibility of the claims.
But it’s when the article talks about “warnings” that the authors work hardest, knowingly or not, to run cover for Hamas’ war crimes.
The authors repeatedly raise the issue of “whether civilians were warned of the strike in advance.” They again quote a Gazan official in the Hamas-administered territory to the effect that “If a warning had been given, the number of deaths would have been lower.”
To understand the deceptive game the journalists are playing, a brief explanation is necessary of what “warnings” are in the law of armed conflict. They are just one form of “precautions,” measures taken by armed forces to abide by the requirement that “[a]ll feasible precautions must be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life…” There are numerous forms of precautions that may be taken to abide by this obligation, such as: selecting a particular type of munition; striking during a particular time of day; striking from a certain angle; or surveilling an area to determine civilian presence.
The key word, however, is “feasible,” and, as the US Department of Defense Law of War Manual explains, “what precautions are feasible depends greatly on the context.” It “does not ‘require everything that is capable of being done,’ because such a requirement would prove an impossible standard to meet in practice.”
If, for example, a precaution would create “a risk of failing to accomplish the mission” or would “[surrender] the element of surprise,” it may not be considered feasible and consequently may properly be passed over for alternative forms of precautions. That Israel has used “warnings” as a form of precautions to an extent unseen in any other militaries is, as numerous experts on the law of armed conflict have acknowledged, a practice that far exceeds the actual legal obligations.
Which brings us back to the CNN article.
By harping on the issue of warnings, CNN implies to its audience that the IDF has some sort of obligation to issue a warning in this case. But as explained, the obligation to take precautions is context dependent. As the article itself acknowledges, the IDF said it was targeting not just the building, but the terrorists operating inside. One need not ponder long to understand that issuing a warning ahead of said strike would both ruin the element of surprise and create “a risk of failing to accomplish the mission” of eliminating the terrorists before they can flee and continue waging war from a new hiding spot.
Moreover, the authors know, but hide from readers, that the IDF took other forms of precautions in relation to this strike.
The article partially quotes an August 4 IDF statement about the strike but omits the following line from it: “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence.”
In other words, the IDF took precautions in relation to this strike, but instead of acknowledging this, the authors hold Israel to a unique standard that is not reflective of the law.
The network also omits that the law of armed conflict, including precautions, imposes obligations on both parties to a conflict. Hamas has an obligation not to embed its military infrastructure and personnel in civilian areas for the purpose of engaging in human shielding. Yet, while CNN reached out to the IDF about “whether civilians were warned of the strike in advance,” there is no indication CNN ever reached out to Hamas — or any other Palestinian terrorist organizations — to ask why their infrastructure and fighters are repeatedly being found inside of schools, hospitals, mosques, and other civilian sites, including the Hassan Salame and Nasser schools.
Footage published by the IDF shows Hamas operatives opening fire at troops from an UNRWA school in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, and a strike in response. pic.twitter.com/eNpNsTsJJ4
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 9, 2023
The effect of the article’s misleading focus on warnings, without tangling with the context, is to place the onus on Israel when Hamas is clearly the one violating the law. Through its selective and misinformed coverage, these CNN journalists impart on Hamas a cynical and dangerous lesson: when Palestinian terrorists violate the laws of armed conflict, Israel’s reputation will suffer.
In effect, CNN’s coverage portrays three separate standards in the law of armed conflict: a unique, higher standard applied to the Jewish state; the standard applied to the rest of the world; and no standard to Palestinian terrorists who seek to wipe the Jewish State from the face of the earth.
David M. Litman is a Research Analyst at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), where a version of this article first appeared.
The post The Media Has One Standard for Israel, and a Different Standard for Every Other Country first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Italian Port Blocks Arms for Israel as Worker Protests Mount
Illustrative: Demonstrators participate in a pro-Palestinian protest in Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy, on Nov. 23, 2024. Photo: Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
The Italian Adriatic port of Ravenna on Thursday refused entry to two trucks said to be carrying arms to Israel, as protests mount among Italian dockworkers and other labor groups against the offensive in Gaza.
The center-left mayor of Ravenna, Alessandro Barattoni, told reporters the port authority had accepted the request from him and the regional government to deny access to the lorries carrying explosives en route to the Israeli port of Haifa.
“The Italian state says it has blocked the sale of arms to Israel but it is unacceptable that, thank to bureaucratic loopholes, they can pass through Italy from other countries,” Barattoni said in a statement.
He did not provide details on where the containers had come from or provide evidence of their contents.
Similar action to block arms shipments to Israel has been taken by dockworkers in other European countries such as France, Sweden, and Greece.
Ravenna’s decision reflects growing mobilization in Italy against Israel‘s military campaign and in support of an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to the Palestinians.
A spokesperson from the Israeli embassy in Rome said they did not have sufficiently detailed information about the case and so declined to comment. Israel‘s government sometimes accuses Europea nations of bias against it and swallowing propaganda by the Hamas terrorist group whom it is fighting in Gaza.
On Friday Italy’s largest trade union body, the CGIL, will hold a national half-day strike and marches in Rome and other cities, while on Sept. 22 two other unions will halt work and try to block activity in the large ports of Genoa and Livorno.
“We won’t let a single pin through the port,” said Riccardo Rudino from the Calp dockers’ union in Genoa.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The CGIL said its protests were aimed at generating pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government “to suspend all commercial and military cooperation agreements with Israel, lift the humanitarian embargo, and recognize the State of Palestine.”
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday Italy would support EU sanctions against violent Israeli settlers and Israeli ministers who have made “unacceptable” comments on Gaza and the West Bank, and was open to considering trade sanctions.
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Israeli Tanks, Infantry Advance in Gaza City Offensive as Enclave Hit by Telecoms Blackout
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during a military operation, in Gaza City, Sept. 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ebrahim Hajjaj
Israeli tanks were advancing on Thursday in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city center, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to further escalate imminently.
Israeli forces control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and in recent days have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.
In separate developments, Israel attacked Hezbollah military targets in southern Lebanon, while two Israelis were killed at Allenby Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, in what the Israeli military called a “terror attack.”
INFANTRY, TANKS, ARTILLERY ADVANCING TOWARDS INNER CITY
Israeli army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said Israeli forces had been operating in the periphery of Gaza City for several weeks but since the night of Monday to Tuesday large numbers of troops had begun moving towards the inner city.
He said a combination of infantry, tanks, and artillery was advancing, backed up by the air force, and that it was a gradual process that would increase as time went on.
“The strategy right now is to defeat Hamas and apply pressure on Hamas, which can lead to a deal or can lead to rescue missions [to free hostages],” Shoshani told Reuters on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.
A total of 48 hostages captured during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, remain in Gaza and Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive.
Hostage families have been imploring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the offensive on Gaza and instead negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to free their loved ones, but Netanyahu says military victory will bring them home.
The armed wing of Hamas said on Thursday the hostages were distributed throughout the neighborhoods of Gaza City.
“The start of this criminal operation and its expansion means you will not receive any captive, alive or dead,” it said in a written statement.
MANY FLEEING AMID TELECOMS BLACKOUT, MANY MORE STAYING PUT
The Palestinian Telecommunications Company said in a statement that its services had been cut off “due to the ongoing aggression and the targeting of the main network routes.”
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel announced on Aug. 10 it intended to take control, but a greater number are staying put, either in battered homes among the ruins or in makeshift tent encampments.
The military has been dropping leaflets urging residents to flee towards a designated “humanitarian zone” in the south of the territory, but aid agencies say conditions there are dire, with insufficient food, medicine, shelter, and basic hygiene.
The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that critical shortages of blood in Gaza hospitals could see key services grind to a halt within days.
FAMILIES WITH BELONGINGS EVACUATE TOWARDS THE SOUTH
Along the coastal road, an unbroken column of every type of vehicle from carts and beaten-up cars to vans designed to carry goods was moving south, heavily laden with mattresses, gas cylinders, and entire families perching on their belongings.
“We are heading to go sleep on the streets towards the beach, like this, barefoot, we don’t know where to go,” said Yasser Saleh, speaking as he stood on the edge of a rickety trailer being pulled by a car.
The war was triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
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Syria’s Foreign Minister in Washington, a First in 25 Years
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani speaks during a press conference in Moscow, Russia, July 31, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/Pool
Syria’s foreign minister arrived in Washington on Thursday, the first official visit at that level in more than 25 years as the US makes a pro-Damascus policy push, lifting sanctions and mediating between the new Islamist rulers and Israel.
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani will meet US lawmakers to discuss the lifting of remaining US sanctions on his country, Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted as saying by Axios. Two sources familiar with the trip confirmed the visit to Reuters.
It comes after some senior US diplomats focused on Syria were abruptly let go from their posts amid Washington‘s pivot, as the US seeks to integrate its longtime Syrian Kurdish allies with the central administration of President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The United States has also been mediating between Israel and Syria. Sharaa, who is due to visit New York next week for the UN General Assembly, said negotiations to reach a security pact with Israel could yield results “in the coming days.”
The United States had placed crippling sanctions on Syria since 2011 after former President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran and Russia, cracked down protests against him that triggered an almost 14-year civil war.
After he was toppled by Sharaa’s forces in a quick sweep in December, Washington and Damascus have been working to warm up ties, with US President Donald Trump announcing that he would move to lift the sanctions after meeting Sharaa in May.