"By repeating Israeli military statements without skepticism, your reporting risks whitewashing Israel’s war crime of indiscriminately bombing of Palestinian civilians in occupied Gaza."
July 19, 2025
To the Brandon Sun and Associated Press newsrooms,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (www.cjpme.org) regarding the Associated Press article published by the Brandon Sun on July 16, 2025, titled: “20 Palestinians killed at Gaza aid distribution site, says Israeli-backed aid group.”
The article states as fact that “Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths because the group often operates in residential areas.” However, given Israel’s long and well-documented history of manufacturing lies to justify the killing of Palestinians, such uncorroborated statements should never be reported without context, skepticism, or independent verification. These allegations are always denied by Palestinians, resistance groups, and international investigations.
For instance, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, was detained at a checkpoint by the Israeli occupation forces in November 2023 while travelling with a convoy of patients in ambulances after the Israeli army ordered him to evacuate the hospital. During his detention, which lasted seven months without charge nor trial, he was subjected to inhumane torture over unproven allegations that the hospital served as a Hamas command center—accusations he and other Palestinian health officials firmly denied.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia is one of countless cases in which unverified Israeli claims are used to justify killing Palestinians. Granted, even if armed groups were present—a claim never substantiated by the Israeli occupation forces—the presence of combatants in a civilian area does not give Israel impunity to kill Palestinians. Under the Geneva Conventions, the indiscriminate killing of civilians is a war crime.
By repeating Israeli military statements without skepticism, your reporting risks whitewashing Israel’s war crime of indiscriminately bombing of Palestinian civilians in occupied Gaza.
I kindly request that the article be amended to raise skepticism around Israel’s unsubstantiated claims and to clarify that these Israeli allegations have not been independently verified in the interest of upholding journalistic standards of accuracy and fairness.
I await your response.
Kind regards,
Lynn Naji
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East