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The Media Revives ‘Famine’ Libel and Distorted Casualty Counts to Slander Israel
Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, May 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Media outlets spread two baseless reports that demonized Israel last weekend, despite clear evidence that debunks them: the eternally “imminent” Gaza famine, and the accusation that 70 percent of casualties in the enclave are women and children.
The first claim was made by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee (FRC) — the same body that had acknowledged its own false famine assessment back in June. The second claim was made by the United Nations Human Rights Office, which admitted it used a non-representative sample of “verified” casualties only.
Yet media outlets were all too happy to parrot both claims while turning a blind eye to the gaping holes in their narrative.
“Looming” Famine — Again
Any journalist tasked with covering the FRC’s Gaza reports should act with caution, recalling this body has admitted that its past famine assessments were simply wrong.
Yet not only was the FRC’s recent report widely covered, but there was no mention of its former mistakes.
IPC June report admits no famine in Gaza now or ever. Libel of “intentional starvation” & “starvation as method of war” are debunked. Mortality rate always proved it was a lie; famine would mean at least 20,000 deaths from hunger but only ~30 claimed by Hamas. Analysis: 1/ pic.twitter.com/Wf9wadOqqU
— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) June 26, 2024
In fact, the media outlets that covered it — Reuters, The Guardian, The Washington Post, NBC News, and The New York Times — made the journalistic sin of reporting what might happen, although past evidence shows it never did.
This manipulation leaves what the media should be covering unreported — the current situation of no famine, as it has been throughout the war despite all warnings.
Perhaps this is why most of the headlines carry the words “likely” or “likelihood.” Such wording would have any other story unrelated to Israel spiked, especially when it’s based on an unreliable source:
The problem is that the UN’s claims automatically make headlines, while Israel’s claims — that Hamas steals aid or that truckloads full of supplies are stranded at the Kerem Shalom crossing — rarely make it to the last paragraphs.
This is what the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing looks like RIGHT NOW.
Approximately 900 trucks worth of aid are waiting to be picked up by aid organizations.
Some of the aid is waiting there for months!
We continuously urge the UN aid agencies – pick up the aid so… pic.twitter.com/V3XA0zR4yO
— COGAT (@cogatonline) November 11, 2024
Casualty (Mis)Count
Another UN claim taken as gospel by the media was that 70 percent of Gaza dead are women and children.
In a demonstration of extreme journalistic malpractice, outlets that covered the story buried the fact it’s based only on a sample of 8,119 verified deaths. Out of this sample, only deaths that occurred in “residential buildings or similar housing” are counted, i.e. — excluding thousands of terrorists killed in combat. Not to mention that the UN itself admitted the verification process was “extremely challenging.”
It looks like it’s time for another installment in our regular segment, “How to Lie with Statistics about Fatalities in Gaza”, because a new “analysis” from @UNHumanRights has just dropped and all the mass media outlets are ecstatic.
Let’s start with the headline (I take BBC as… pic.twitter.com/OvK4mvYdnj
— Mark Zlochin – מארק זלוצ’ין༝ (@MarkZlochin) November 8, 2024
This skewed report can merit a story only if all the caveats are mentioned at its top.
Instead, media headlines from the BBC, CNN, Sky News, and The Guardian made it seem like the UN figures apply to all the war casualties in Gaza:
The Guardian went further, calling the UN report “the most detailed analysis of its kind yet.”
And Sky News had no problem speculating that the report “rings true:” “The UN’s report rings true with Palestinian claims that women and children represent a large proportion of those killed in the war.”
Sadly, there are only two options that can explain the flawed coverage of the FRC’s famine warning and the UN casualties report: it’s either bad journalism, or bias against Israel.
Usually the latter feeds the former.
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.
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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.
On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.
Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says
FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.
Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.
Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.
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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending
USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.
Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
The post Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending first appeared on Algemeiner.com.