Hamas has denied that it hides its terrorist operations in and around hospitals in the Gaza Strip. News outlets have had to weigh that denial against growing evidence that Hamas is lying.
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday released footage of what it said were Hamas weapons found inside Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital during a raid of the medical center. The White House on Tuesday said that U.S. intelligence shows Hamas uses Al Shifa and other Gaza hospitals "to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages." The IDF on Monday gave CNN an on-air tour of the basement of Gaza children's hospital that was full of weapons and signs that Israeli civilians had recently been held hostage there, including a pacifier and diapers.
Faced with this evidence, and much more like it, outlets have repeatedly suggested that Israel is responsible for the crisis at Gaza's hospitals—failing to mention in tweets and headlines that Hamas is apparently using the patients as "human shields." It's part of mainstream media's stubborn insistence on taking seriously claims by Hamas, a terrorist group that has lied about slaughtering babies and other civilians.
A witness describes a tense, fearful scene in Al-Shifa Hospital as Israeli soldiers raid the hospital. Explosions heard inside the hospital. UN spox said today, "Hospitals should not be battlegrounds. Full stop."https://t.co/vds7loQTjP
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) November 15, 2023
Ahmed Al Mokhallalati, a doctor at Al-Shifa Hospital, told @MiriamABerger at around 3:30am that he heard continuous shooting but that it was too dangerous to look out the window. Israeli tanks had surrounded the complex about four hours earlier, he said.https://t.co/HSjUt4fd6p pic.twitter.com/7iWOcKiHsZ
— Evan Hill (@evanhill) November 15, 2023
Breaking News: Israel’s military said its troops were raiding Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, where thousands of people have taken shelter, in its fight against Hamas. https://t.co/DW5UkiHcHW
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 15, 2023
'In past 3 days, at least 32 people, including 3 children from the intensive care unit, have died in al-Shifa, #Gaza’s largest hospital, which is surrounded by Israeli troops," Devastating to see desperately ill people killed in this horrific conflict. https://t.co/lHDSliIKJV
— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) November 13, 2023
Israeli military vehicles advanced on Monday to the gates of the besieged Al-Shifa hospital complex as medical staff painted a calamitous picture of conditions there. 'The situation here is catastrophic in every sense of the word," one nurse said. https://t.co/FYEolmdMsK pic.twitter.com/biEIY7lgQw
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 13, 2023
Three babies died from lack of power at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. One was a premie in an incubator. Two cardiology patients died. Patients are dying because of lack of electricity. Israel has banned fuel delivery and cut electricity to Gaza.https://t.co/tuXHfGS6Xe
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) November 13, 2023
LATEST: Doctors in the war-torn Gaza Strip are appealing for help from the international community as hospitals run out of life-saving supplies amid Israel's bombardment.
Read more about the Israel-Hamas conflict at: https://t.co/uqP6RgW2Wh
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2023
Israel's war on Hamas homes in on Gaza hospitals. https://t.co/c4mLeRGBZV
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) November 11, 2023
Gaza's main hospital goes dark in intense fighting as Israel's attacks put it at odds with allies https://t.co/Q2ws2I2Lag
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 11, 2023
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has released harrowing new footage of what it says are conditions inside Al-Shifa hospital, as Israeli forces continue to pummel northern Gaza in what the IDF says is an effort to wipe out Hamas. https://t.co/H5hlYJwkcZ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 11, 2023
Pro-Hamas MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell is still falsely insisting that Hamas is not using hospitals as human shields.
"The counter from Israel is that Hamas has tunneled under the hospitals. We have not seen that intelligence. That's based on IDF video, IDF claims." pic.twitter.com/SUjykiny61— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 14, 2023
The Times of Israel, an English-language outlet based in Jerusalem, on Wednesday showed a different way to write a headline about Israel's raid of the Al Shifa Hospital.
IDF operation in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital ongoing, as army targets terror infrastructure https://t.co/P9hKj5y66d via @timesofisrael
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) November 15, 2023
But mainstream media have long accepted Hamas's attempts to blame Israel for Palestinian terrorism—even including the Oct. 7 attack that drew Israel into the Gaza war.
https://twitter.com/DrewHolden360/status/1714778669481124341
If you didn’t have the attribution, would you be able to tell which description of the Hamas terrorist attacks was from Hamas, and which was from The Washington Post? pic.twitter.com/HQIC8qSE6t
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) October 9, 2023