The New York Times has admitted it “relied too much on claims by Hamas” in its report on the explosion at the Gaza hospital – although the paper has yet to refute the terror organisation’s claims that Israel is responsible.
The newspaper issued a statement Monday, five days after running a headline on its front page, above the fold, that read: “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.”
“The Times’ initial account attributed Israel’s claim of responsibility to Palestinian officials, and stated that the Israeli military said it was investigating the explosion,” the editor’s note said.
“However, early versions of the coverage – and the exposure it received in headlines, news alerts and social media outlets – relied too much on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not be immediately verified.”
The Times editor further acknowledged that “the report leaves the reader with the wrong impression of what is known and how reliable the account is.”
Although they claimed the Times reporter was quick to edit the story on the website because Israeli officials denied attacking the hospital, “Given the sensitive nature of the news during the widening conflict and the prominent promotion it received, the Times editors should have been more careful with the initial presentation and clearer about the information which can be verified.
The New York Times published a story with the headline: “Israeli Attacks Kill Hundreds in Hospitals, Palestinians Say.” It was changed hours later, after Israeli officials denied responsibility.
An initial Times report claimed 500 people were killed in the attack, cited Hamas officials, and included photos of a damaged building that was not actually Al-Ahli Hospital.
Israeli officials have vehemently denied responsibility for the blast at Al-Ahli Hospital last week, and have even released an audio file of a Hamas official admitting that the blast was caused by Palestinian Islamic Jihad shells falling into Gaza.
They also provided images showing that the parking lot where the blast occurred had no craters in the ground, and no structural damage was done to nearby buildings – both of which are usually left behind by Israel Defense Forces attacks.
The Biden administration has backed Israel’s claims, saying the Jewish state was “not responsible” for the deadly attack.
Investigations by the Wall Street Journal, CNN and the Associated Press have also found evidence that the missiles came from a terrorist organization – and not Israel – based on television footage they say appears to show a Palestinian rocket misfiring in the air over a hospital.
But the New York Times still says it’s unclear who fired the missile.
Israeli officials have vehemently denied responsibility for the explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital last week. AFP via Getty Images
In a story published Sunday, it noted that there were inconsistencies in Hamas’ accounts of the strike — and said the terrorist organization refused to allow reporters to see the remains of the site.
The Times reporter wrote that a Hamas spokesman had released a death toll that varied from 500 to 833, before finally settling on 471 victims.
US officials, however, believed the death toll to be between 100 and 300, while a European official put the death toll at 50 or less.
“The Hamas-run health ministry also refused to release further details about the 471 victims, and all traces of ammunition appeared to be missing from the blast site, making it impossible to assess its origin,” the Times reporter wrote.
They stated that Hamas officials refused their request to see the evidence left at the scene, claiming that it was destroyed beyond recognition.
“The missiles have dissolved like salt in water,” Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, claimed to the newspaper. “It evaporates. There is nothing left.”
The Israel Defense Forces released images showing that the parking lot where the blast occurred had no craters in the ground, and no structural damage was done to nearby buildings.AP
Salama Maroof, head of the Hamas-run government media office, also sent a message to reporters: “Who says we are responsible for presenting the remains of every rocket that kills our people? In general, you can come and research and confirm for yourself from the evidence we have.”
But a munitions expert who spoke to the Times dismissed Hamas’ claims that the munitions would completely disintegrate on impact.
“One would expect remains to be recoverable in all but the most extreme circumstances, and the available imagery of the hospital site suggests something identifiable in the field,” said NR Jenzen-Jones, director of the Australia-based Armaments Research Service.
But the Times refused to say that the attack was not caused by Israeli airstrikes.
Hamas officials have claimed 500 people were killed in the blast, but American and European intelligence officials dispute the figure.AFP via Getty Images
The reporter noted that Israeli officials also refused requests to provide logs of its military activities in the area at the time, and refused to reveal the video on which it based its assessment that Palestinian Islamic Jihad was to blame.
“Israel’s messaging about the rocket launch sites has also been inconsistent,” they wrote. “Admiral [Daniel] Hagari suggested the errant rocket was launched from a cemetery near the hospital, while a map posted online by the military suggested the launch site was further away.”
They suggest the attack may have been caused by a different Israeli rocket than the one normally used by the IDF that would have caused a smaller impact, such as an interceptor fired by air defenses or artillery shells.
But Israel claims it did not launch interceptors into Gaza airspace, and it did not fire at specific areas at the time, the reporter said, adding that Israeli officials said their strikes were aimed at members of the terrorist group and their infrastructure.
“Without examining the ammunition that hit the parking lot, it may be impossible to draw a firm conclusion about who fired it,” the Times reporter concluded.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
