"Given that Amnesty International has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, please refrain from using the term “war.” It is neutral and fails to capture the intent behind Israel’s genocidal campaign in the occupied Gaza Strip, which is not merely war, but deliberately destroying Palestinians to further their settler-colonial agenda, covered under the guise of Judaism."
January 8, 2024
To:
Andrea Baillie, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Press
Tim Cook, Managing Editor, Canadian Press
Dear Ms. Baillie and Mr. Cook,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to address several concerns in your article titled: “Israeli strikes kill 17 people in Gaza, nearly all of them women or kids” published on January 7, 2025.
Your article states that “The Israeli military said it targeted militants who had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, without providing evidence. Israel said it took steps to lessen the risk of hurting civilians and blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties.”
As the Canadian Press knows, the Israeli Offensive Forces (IOF) have a vested interest in shaping the narrative of their military operations to justify their acts of genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip. For instance, the IOF regularly claims that civilian areas are targeted in Gaza because Hamas allegedly hides weapons there or uses civilians as human shield—a claim consistently denied by the resistance.
Furthermore, during Israel's assault on Al Shifa Medical Complex in November 2023, the IOF released more than 27 statements accusing the hospital of being used by Hamas to use civilians as human shields. However, these accusations were unsupported by credible evidence, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was unable to independently verify them.
This is reflected in their November 8th report[1], which I have referenced below and provided a screenshot:
I am raising this because it is the responsibility of the media to approach Israeli claims with skepticism and independently verify allegations made by Israel, particularly when they are not substantiated by credible evidence. In fact, these claims are often contradicted by statements from Hamas and, as noted by the OHCHR, could not be verified by an independent third party.
Please, now and in future reporting, independently verify allegations made by Israel. Israeli authorities have a well-documented history of using deceit, falsehoods, and disinformation to conceal their war crimes and crimes against humanity—and media outlets have a duty to avoid amplifying this propaganda.
Furthermore, your article states: “Displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still have hope that Israel’s 15-month war with Hamas will end soon, as both sides appear to be inching toward a ceasefire deal.”
I urge you to stop using the misleading use of the term "war" when referring to Israel's genocidal campaign in occupied Gaza. While war denotes a conflict between states or groups, genocide specifically involves the deliberate intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a particular ethnic group. Israeli officials have made statements that reflect this intent. For instance, on October 9th, 2023, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense stated on October 9th, 2023: “We are laying a complete siege on Gaza; no electricity—no water—no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly,” explicitly revealing a destructive intent towards the Palestinian people.
Amnesty International’s report which was published on December 4, 2024: "You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza" concluded that between October 2023 and July 2024, Israel committed genocide “with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza three out of the five prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention, including i) killing members of the group, ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm, and iii) deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part.” I have highlighted for your reference the three acts under the Genocide Convention that Israel breached:
Given that Amnesty International has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, please refrain from using the term “war.” It is neutral and fails to capture the intent behind Israel’s genocidal campaign in the occupied Gaza Strip, which is not merely war, but deliberately destroying Palestinians to further their settler-colonial agenda, covered under the guise of Judaism.
Please, in the name of fair and balanced reporting, raise skepticism and independently verify Israeli claims, and refer to Israel’s campaign in Gaza as genocide, not war.
I am looking forward to your response.
Warmest regards,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East