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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.
The post The Media Revives ‘Famine’ Libel and Distorted Casualty Counts to Slander Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.