"Since Israel began its military campaign on occupied Gaza in October 2023—an assault Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have described as genocide—Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, consistently expressed strong solidarity with the Palestinian people and Hamas in their struggle against Israeli occupation. He pledged continued support for Palestinian resistance efforts through cross-border attacks, framing Hezbollah’s actions as part of a broader stance against Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, apartheid, dispossession, and forced displacement of Palestinians."
February 24, 2025
To the Globe and Mail Newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding your article, sourced from Reuters, titled: “Massive crowds mourn Hezbollah’s slain leader Nasrallah at state funeral,” published on Sunday February 23, 2025.
Among the issues in your article, I take particular issue with your framing of Hezbollah’s involvement in occupied Gaza:
“The conflict spiraled after Hezbollah joined hostilities to support Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.”
This framing is misleading and lacks critical context. Hezbollah’s involvement should not be reduced to merely “supporting Hamas” without acknowledging the broader context of why it started engaging in the first place.
Since Israel began its military campaign on occupied Gaza in October 2023—an assault Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have described as genocide—Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, consistently expressed strong solidarity with the Palestinian people and Hamas in their struggle against Israeli occupation. He pledged continued support for Palestinian resistance efforts through cross-border attacks, framing Hezbollah’s actions as part of a broader stance against Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, apartheid, dispossession, and forced displacement of Palestinians.
Since October 2023, Israel has massacred over 48,346 Palestinians and wounded 111,759 others. The Government Media Office has updated the death toll to at least 61,709, with thousands of Palestininians still buried under rubble. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians killed are women, children, and the elderly, leading to condemnation from the United Nations, yet even this critical context was glaringly absent from your reporting.
To omit this crucial context while attributing Hezbollah’s involvement solely to “supporting Hamas,” while failing to mention Israel’s responsibility in committing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip—the gravest crime under international law—constitutes unbalanced reporting that misinforms readers, grants Israel impunity, and shields it from accountability.
Additionally, your article falls short in mentioning the profound asymmetry between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024. An October 13, 2024 Al-Jazeera report found that since October 7, Hezbollah and its allies attacked Israel 2,370 times, whereas Israel attacked Lebanon in the same period 11,238 times. This is a massive discrepancy that one would imagine merits mention in this article.
Similarly, a recent September 27, 2024 BBC investigation based on data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), showed another dramatic surge in Israeli attacks in late September.
As you can see in the BBC’s chart, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have consistently been more frequent than attacks on Israel. Hezbollah’s capabilities pale in comparison. Again, this important context is crucial for understanding the nature of the asymmetry of power here, yet it is entirely absent from your article.
I urge you to revisit your article and provide the necessary context regarding Hezbollah’s involvement in cross-border attacks with Hamas, while also acknowledging the asymmetry in power between Hezbollah and Israel.
I have previously corresponded with the Globe and Mail on similar concerns, and I hope this will be one of those instances where meaningful corrections are made.
I look forward to your response.
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East