"The headline would be more accurate and fair if it specified that the 5 journalists killed were Palestinian journalists. Otherwise, the omission risks feeding into the broader pattern of erasing Palestinian identity in Canadian media coverage."
August 25, 2025
To the CBC Newsroom,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding your article titled “Israeli airstrikes on Gaza hospital kill at least 19 people, including 5 journalists.”
First, I would like to thank you for mentioning the perpetrator, Israel, in the headline. Too often, media coverage shields Israel from accountability with phrasing such as “ X amount of Palestinians killed in airstrikes,” as though Palestinians were killed in vacuum, rather than being killed by the occupation.
That being said, I urge you to make an important correction. The headline would be more accurate and fair if it specified that the 5 journalists killed were Palestinian journalists. Otherwise, the omission risks feeding into the broader pattern of erasing Palestinian identity in Canadian media coverage.
In a media landscape already marked by attempts to erase Palestinian voices, this addition is essential. I therefore respectfully request that you amend the headline to specify: “including 5 Palestinian journalists.”
Second, the article uncritically repeats the Israeli military’s claims: “At the time, Israel's military said it had targeted Hamas militants operating from a command and control centre inside the hospital.”
During Israel's assault on Al Shifa hospital in November 2023, the IOF released more than 27 statements accusing the hospital of being used by Hamas. 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, 2024 report.
Israel has a documented history of using misinformation and lies to conceal its war crimes and crimes against humanity. If such claims are included, they must clearly be framed as unverified assertions by the Israeli military.
I therefore ask that CBC amend its coverage in line with journalistic ethics by:
- Updating the headline to read: “including 5 Palestinian journalists.”
- Clearly identifying Israeli military statements as unverified and part of a long pattern of unsubstantiated allegations.
Lynn Naji
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East