"To report on the military targeting of the Hamas tunnels in the absence of any acknowledgment of Israel’s deliberate attacks on the Palestinian civilian population and their infrastructures dehumanizes the Palestinians. It also reinforces Israel’s impunity for the humanitarian crisis that they have created and continue to expand in total disregard for International Humanitarian Law."
November 8, 2023
To:
Jonathan Saul, Senior Correspondent, Thomson Reuters
Dan Taylor, Managing Editor, CTV News
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Senior Correspondent, Thomson Reuters
Daniel Flynn, Editor, Reuters
Howard Goller, Global News Desk Editor, Reuters
Dear Mr. Saul, Mr. Taylor, Mr. al-Mughrabi, Mr. Flynn, and Mr. Goller,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my concerns regarding the November 8, 2023, CTV News report: Israel targets Hamas in new phase of Gaza war.
What I found most deficient in your report was that you totally omitted Israel’s responsibility as a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention. This convention, adopted in 1949, is centered on protecting civilians, including those in occupied territories. In addition to the hundreds of civilians who have been killed or injured by the Israeli military operation, the men, women, and children of Gaza are also being deprived of food, medicine, safe drinking water, electricity, and gas. Their schools, roads, homes, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructures are also destroyed. The Israeli military and government may want us to think that they are targeting Hamas tunnels, but as the statistics and evidence demonstrate, Palestinians and critical infrastructure are their primary targets.
To report on the military targeting of the Hamas tunnels in the absence of any acknowledgment of Israel’s deliberate attacks on the Palestinian civilian population and their infrastructures dehumanizes the Palestinians. It also reinforces Israel’s impunity for the humanitarian crisis that they have created and continue to expand in total disregard for International Humanitarian Law.
With respect to your journalistic obligations of accuracy and balance, I insist that you add a paragraph about Israel’s military operation's humanitarian impact on Gazans and their infrastructures.
I hope that future CTV News and Reuters reporting will provide a more fair and balanced coverage of Israel’s military operation.
Should you have any questions, you are welcome to contact me at 250-469-4468.
Sincerely,
Debbie Hubbard
CJPME-Okanagan