After Reuters published a Facebook post this week which cited “the war Israel launched against Hamas,” as if Israel and not Hamas started the war, CAMERA prompted the news agency to acknowledge the terror organization’s massive Oct. 7 invasion, a brutal onslaught of murder, rape, kidnapping, mutilation, torture and looting.
The April 8 post had stated (screenshot at left):
Drone footage filmed over a year shows parts of Gaza City and southern Gaza before and after damage and destruction in the war Israel launched against Hamas.
The post links to a Reuters article which correctly reports (“Drone footage shows a lively Gaza turned to wasteland since war began“): “The conflict began when Hamas, which runs Gaza, burst into Israel on Oct. 7, killed 1,200 people and dragged more than 200 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.”
In response to communication from CAMERA’s Israel office, Reuters amended the Facebook post to state:
CORRECTED TO ADD CONTEXT: Drone footage filmed for over a year shows parts of Gaza City and southern Gaza prior to and following the damage and destruction from the war Israel launched against Hamas, after the terrorist group burst into Israel on Oct. 7, killed 1,200 people and dragged more than 200 hostages back to Gaza.
While the addition of Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities is certainly a significant improvement, it should be noted that Israel didn’t “launch” a war, Hamas did. Israel declared war in response to Hamas’ genocidal attack.
.@Reuters, your FB post has this backwards. On Oct. 7, Hamas launched a war against Israel. Not the other way around. Please correct @CAMERAorg https://t.co/6R6lnMsPfz (1/2) pic.twitter.com/JeRqaWvCgD
— Tamar Sternthal (@TamarSternthal) April 9, 2024