"Palestinians are being forcibly displaced to areas that Israel deemed safe just to get attacked again and forcibly displaced again. As reported by BBC, “many have been displaced five or six times” already. As early as January, the UN Humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, called Gaza 'unhabitable.'"
July 3, 2024
To:
Wafaa Shurafa, Producer, AP
Samy Magdy, Reporter, AP
Lee Keath, Middle East Enterprise Editor, AP
Josef Federman, News Director, Jerusalem, AP
Dear Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, Lee Keath, and Josef Federman,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express our concerns regarding the article: “Strike kills family as Israeli evacuation order sparks panicked flight from Southern Gaza city,” published on July 3, on AP.
While a lot of issues can be raised about your article, I take foremost issue with your repeated use of the words “flight,” “fled,” and “fleeing”:
- Your headline reads: “Strike kills family as Israeli evacuation order sparks panicked flight from Southern Gaza city.”
- You write: “The Hamdan family- around a dozen people from three generations – fled their home in the middle of the night after the Israeli military ordered an evacuation from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.”
- You write: “Israel’s order on Monday for people to leave the eastern half of Khan Younis – the territory’s second-largest city – has triggered the third mass flight of Palestinians in as many months.”
- You write: “Many of them had just returned to their homes there after fleeing Israel’s invasion of Khan Younis earlier this year.”
- You write: “The order also prompted a frantic flight from European General Hospital.”
- You write: “On Tuesday, cars loaded with personal belongings streamed out of eastern Khan Younis, though the number of those fleeing was not immediately known. The new exodus comes on top of the 1 million people who fled Rafah since May.”
- You write: “A father of three children who on Monday night fled his home in an eastern district of Khan Younis for the second time.”
- You write: “Up to 15 members of the Hamdan family fled their Khan Younis home.”
- You write: “On Tuesday, more families fleeing Khan Younis were trying to find space in the zone.”
- You write: “Noha al-Bana said she has been displaced four times since fleeing Gaza City in the north early in the war.”
Merriam-Webster defines the verb to flee as “to run away often from danger or evil,” this is not the verb that can best describe what Palestinians from Gaza are going through, especially considering that you use the verb “displaced” four times in your article.
Palestinians are being forcibly displaced to areas that Israel deemed safe just to get attacked again and forcibly displaced again. As reported by BBC, “many have been displaced five or six times” already. As early as January, the UN Humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, called Gaza “unhabitable.”
Writing “flight,” “fled,” and “fleeing” makes it seem like Palestinians have deliberately made the choice of leaving when it’s not the reality since they are being forced to do so because of Israel’s actions.
I, therefore, ask you to change the words “flight,” “fled,” and “fleeing” to “[forcibly] displaced” and “displacement” as a matter of consistency and accuracy.
I hope AP will make this change and consider my suggestion in future reporting on the reality of Palestinians in Gaza.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East