Dr. Eric R. Mandel
JNS, July 30, 2025
“Journalism students are now encouraged to become “agents of change” rather than impartial observers.”
In the wake of Oct. 7, Israel has been fighting not only a brutal war against Hamas but also a second, less visible battle in the court of public opinion. Mainstream media coverage of Gaza has increasingly blurred the line between journalism and activism, sacrificing context for outrage and omitting facts that complicate a preferred narrative.
A widely circulated photo of a malnourished child that was used to suggest Israeli “starvation tactics” turned out to depict a child with a rare genetic disorder. By the time that fact emerged, the emotional impact had already solidified public perception. Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry continues to push unverifiable casualty figures, often including militants and natural deaths, with minimal media scrutiny.
Take, for example, the ubiquitous headlines accusing Israel of engineering a humanitarian catastrophe. Often absent from those reports is a crucial fact: Hamas systematically loots the aid convoys and food warehouses, diverting the supplies to its fighters or selling them on the black market to fund its operations.
A July 27 New York Times article claimed there was “no evidence” that Hamas had stolen U.N. humanitarian aid, citing unnamed Israeli military officials. Yet Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, has publicly stated that Hamas diverts 70% to 90% of deliveries.
Israel Defense Forces field intelligence estimates that Hamas has seized up to 25% of aid shipments. A senior U.S. State Department official recently described “endless video evidence” of Hamas stealing aid, footage that is widely available across multiple platforms. …SOURCE