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The Media Plays Its Part in Hamas’ Disgusting ‘Parade’ of Trapped Hostages
Teenage hostages before Oct. 7 and after their capture by Hamas to Gaza. Photo: Screenshot from Israeli government X/Twitter account
Everything about the spectacle reeked of choreography: the green military-style uniforms forced upon them, the framed certificates they were compelled to hold aloft like unwilling contest winners, and the stage constructed for no other reason than to parade captives in front of the cameras.
This wasn’t just a release of hostages; it was a grotesque theater performance: Hamas’ carefully crafted attempt to project an image of power while simultaneously masquerading as benevolent.
The four young Israeli women — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — soldiers kidnapped from the Nahal Oz army base in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 — were the reluctant stars of this PR charade.
And yet, somehow, some in the media managed to accept this sham whole. They didn’t just cover the hostage parade; they gave it legitimacy as if parading captives before the world wasn’t an affront to the very humanity Hamas so desperately wants to feign.
The BBC, for example, falsely claimed during a live report showing Hamas’ sickening PR stunt that the Israeli hostages were wearing the same IDF uniforms they had been kidnapped in. This, of course, was a blatant misrepresentation. As even Hamas’ own wealth of body camera footage from October 7 makes chillingly clear, the four were abducted from their beds and paraded through Gaza’s streets in bloodied pajamas and underwear — not military fatigues.
On multiple occasions, @BBCNews bought into the propaganda of Hamas’ staged hostage release, falsely claiming the four Israelis were wearing IDF uniforms they were dressed in on Oct. 7.
They were kidnapped in their pajamas & those uniforms on display in Gaza are not theirs. pic.twitter.com/S1OxcAfTZB
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 26, 2025
The truth behind Hamas’ choice to dress the hostages in army-style uniforms couldn’t be more transparent. It was a deliberate ploy to insinuate that these women were legitimate military targets. And yet, the BBC and others, including Australia’s ABC News played right into this lie, lending credence to Hamas’s narrative.
Media Rehabilitate Released Terrorists
As part of the first stage of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Israel has agreed to release approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 33 Israelis taken captive during Hamas’ terror attacks.
Saturday marked the second round of this so-called “first stage,” with 200 Palestinians walking free. Among them were more than 120 individuals serving life sentences for carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis — a reminder, if one were needed, of the kind of people Israel is being asked to trade for the return of its citizens.
And yet, outlets like The New York Times and the Associated Press went out of their way to engage in some serious image rehabilitation for the unrepentant mass murderers released, including when both chose to describe a terrorist serving a life sentence for attempted murder and planting an explosive as an “Islamic Jihad activist.”
Yes, “activist” — a term typically reserved for those campaigning for political or social change — was somehow deemed an appropriate label for a terrorist whose “activism” involved planning mass-casualty attacks on innocent civilians.
According to The New York Times, attempting to murder Jews on behalf of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is simply “activism.”
This isn’t journalism, @nytimes, it’s an apologism for terror. pic.twitter.com/Va8FlTMYUL
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 26, 2025
Meanwhile, CNN saw fit to elevate Haaretz journalist and terrorism apologist Gideon Levy, presenting his fringe views as though they reflected Israeli society. Incredibly, Levy was given a platform to draw a grotesque equivalence between the Israeli hostages and the released prisoners, referring to both as “hostages” and telling his CNN hosts they “may call” the convicted terrorists that.
“But at the same time, there are also dozens and dozens of released Palestinian hostages, and you may call them hostages.”
This is what happens when @CNN gives a platform to an extremist like Gideon Levy and attempts to pass him off as a mainstream Israeli commentator. pic.twitter.com/pC76fKJhQ4
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 25, 2025
Not to be outdone, The Washington Post gave the spotlight to infamous Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist Khalida Jarrar, most recently arrested in 2019 after a PFLP terror attack that claimed the life of 17-year-old Rina Shnerb.
In an astonishing act of journalistic omission, the Post conveniently ignored her direct ties to violence, instead painting her as yet another misunderstood political figure rather than a key player in a terror organization.
But perhaps the most absurd was the WaPo’s characterization of the PFLP itself as a mere “small leftist armed group” — a shockingly mild description for a proscribed terrorist organization responsible for atrocities like the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre, where Jewish worshipers were brutally hacked to death with axes and knives by PFLP terrorists.
Note to @washingtonpost: Being a member of a “small leftist armed group,” i.e. a terrorist organization, does not make Jarrar a “political activist.”
Reminder: In August 2019, a PFLP terror cell carried out a bombing against Israeli civilians, murdering 17-year-old Rina Shnerb. pic.twitter.com/1iCC9tYJ2i
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 26, 2025
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 The Media Plays Its Part in Hamas’ Disgusting ‘Parade’ of Trapped Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
TRUMP THREAT
Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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