Take as well the alleged sexual assault claims where Israeli officials circulated the unsubstantiated claims that Hamas fighters raped women on October 7th, which again were repeated in almost every single mainstream media headline and were uncritically echoed by President Biden who repeated them on national television.
To the Globe and Mail and Reuters,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding the Reuters article published today in the Globe and Mail titled: “Israeli air strike kills four in Gaza, including six-year-old girl, health officials say.”
While we appreciate that the headline rightly attributes the strike to Israel, the body of the article mentions that “the Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas militant” without offering pushback, raising skepticism regarding these unsubstantiated claims, or adding a Palestinian perspective.
Given Israel’s long and well-documented history of manufacturing lies to justify the killing of Palestinians, such statements should never be reported without context or at the very least followed by adding Palestinian perspectives.
There have been numerous claims made by the Israeli military that were later debunked. Take the beheaded babies hoax allegation, a claim that was never substantiated with evidence despite being in almost every single mainstream media headline. Not only did a Whitehouse spokesperson clarify that neither U.S. officials nor President Biden had independently seen photographs or verified the claim at the time, but Al Jazeera’s own Investigative Unit (I-Unit) concluded that no babies were present in the Kibbutz Be’eri, and that the 12 individuals inside were most likely killed by the Israeli forces as they employed the Hannibal directive on October 7, as reported by Haartez, i.e. Israel’s use of overwhelming lethal force even if it meant killing their own people.
Take as well the alleged sexual assault claims where Israeli officials circulated the unsubstantiated claims that Hamas fighters raped women on October 7th, which again were repeated in almost every single mainstream media headline and were uncritically echoed by President Biden who repeated them on national television.
However, up until now, Israeli authorities have not publicly presented evidence of firsthand witness testimonies relating to allegations of rape by Hamas militants. In fact, in 2025, an Israeli prosecutor reportedly acknowledged that there was still no complainants in alleged cases of rape.
In other words, the conclusions were based largely on circumstantial information rather than on independently verified testimonies and as it stands, Israeli authorities have not publicly presented evidence sufficient to substantiate many of the October 7th Hamas rape allegations.
The list goes on and on.
“Israel says X” is not journalism, particularly when they are claims issued by the Israeli military and government whose Prime Minister and former Defence Minister are currently subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
Thank you once again for attributing the strike to Israel in the headline. Please continue to do so and to raise skepticism around Israeli claims in future reporting in the interest of fair, balanced, and accurate reporting.
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East