"Your headline “Israeli strikes in Gaza kills 3 senior militants, 10 others” is gravely misleading as you fail to mention that the “10 others” were Palestinian civilians. By omitting the fact that 10 civilians were killed in Israel’s latest airstrike attack on Gaza, you are presenting the narrative preferred by the Israeli military, which says that any Palestinian living in Gaza is a “target.” In reality, 4 of the 10 civilians killed were children and another 4 were women."
May 9, 2023
To:
Fares Akram, Journalist, Associated Press
Josef Federman, News Director Jerusalem, Associated Press
Donovan Vincent, Public Editor, Toronto Star
Dear Mr. Akram, Mr. Federman and Mr. Vincent,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to request an immediate headline change to your news article titled “Israeli strikes in Gaza kills 3 senior militants, 10 others” published by Toronto Star (Associated Press) on May 8, 2023.
First, your headline “Israeli strikes in Gaza kills 3 senior militants, 10 others” is gravely misleading as you fail to mention that the “10 others” were Palestinian civilians. By omitting the fact that 10 civilians were killed in Israel’s latest airstrike attack on Gaza, you are presenting the narrative preferred by the Israeli military, which says that any Palestinian living in Gaza is a “target.” In reality, 4 of the 10 civilians killed were children and another 4 were women.
As such, I ask that you immediately change the headline to “Israeli strikes in Gaza kills 3 senior militants, 10 civilians.”
Second, I take issue with your use of the term “targeted airstrikes” and “targeted killings” in describing Israel’s offensive in Gaza. According to the International Press Institute’s (IPI) standards for reporting on Israel and Palestine, using the terms “targeted airstrike” or “targeted killing” “makes the operation sound just, legitimate and clean but downplays any […] civilian injuries that may have resulted from the attack.”[1] The IPI suggests that journalists refrain from using the term “targeted” and instead simply use “airstrike,” “killing” or “assassination.”
As such, I insist that you remove the tern “targeted” in the following sentences: “Israel carried out a series of targeted airstrikes…” and “Such targeted killings are rare…”
Thank you in advance for making this change. Should you wish, you can contact me at 438-380-5410 for more information.
Sincerely,
Reem Majid
Policy Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] “Use with Care: A Reporter’s Glossary of Loaded Language in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” International Press Institute, Oct. 23, 2013, https://ipi.media/use-with-care-reporters-glossary-of-loaded-language-in-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/