"The term “gun battles” suggests a firefight involving only small arms, which downplays the power imbalance between Israel, an occupying power, and Palestinians, an occupied people who has the right to resist under international law. The context of the conflict within the Gaza Strip involved a mix of urban warfare, guerrilla tactics, and rocket fire."
June 6, 2024
To:
Nancy Waugh, Managing Editor, CBC News
Paul Moore, Senior Advisor for Journalistic Standards and Language, CBC News
Brodie Fenlon, News Editor in Chief, CBC News
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concerns regarding a recent article published by CBC News titled: “Israeli strike on Gaza school kills dozens” on June 6, 2024.
I take issue with the following sentence: “Hamas has seen about half its forces wiped out in eight months of fighting and is relying on insurgent tactics to frustrate Israel's attempts to take control of Gaza, U.S. and Israeli officials told Reuters” for two reasons.
First, you do not offer any concrete evidence to support the claim that “Hamas has seen about half of its forces wiped out”. Without presenting evidence or citing independent reports, this statement remains unverified. Responsible journalism requires corroboration from multiple, diverse sources before presenting such significant claims as fact.
Second, your reliance on statements from only U.S. and Israeli officials reflects a selective bias. To present a more balanced report, I urge you to include perspectives from other relevant parties, such as Palestinian sources, independent analysts, or human rights organizations. Given the significant number of Israeli military claims that have been later proven false by independent investigations, it is critical that journalists exercise more skepticism around their claims, just as is done when reporting on claims made by Hamas.
Critically questioning such statements is essential for maintaining journalistic standards and providing the public with accurate and reliable information. I, therefore, ask you to raise skepticism when reporting on Israeli claims in future reporting.
I also take issue with the following sentence: “The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they had fought gun battles with Israeli forces on Wednesday in areas throughout the enclave and fired anti-tank rockets and shells.”
The term “gun battles” suggests a firefight involving only small arms, which downplays the power imbalance between Israel, an occupying power, and Palestinians, an occupied people who has the right to resist under international law. The context of the conflict within the Gaza Strip involved a mix of urban warfare, guerrilla tactics, and rocket fire.
I, therefore, urge you to change the sentence to the following one: “The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad responded to Israeli forces on Wednesday in areas throughout the enclave and fired anti-tank rockets and shells”.
I hope you make this edit promptly and keep in mind my recommendations in future reporting on the genocide in Gaza.