AP Adds Info on 2014 Tunnel Attack: Five Israeli Soldiers Killed

December 11, 2017
In response to communication from CAMERA’s Israel office, the Associated Press yesterday added key information after an article had initially omitted that Hamas fighters who emerged from an attack tunnel into Israel had killed five Israeli soldiers in 2014. Yesterday’s article (“Israel says it destroys Hamas tunnel using new techniques”) had originally stated:

Israel has made neutralizing the tunnel threat a top priority since that war, when Hamas militants on several occasions made their way into Israel. Although they did not manage to reach civilian areas, the attacks caught Israel off guard and terrified the local population.

CAMERA wrote to AP pointing out that the attacks did more than terrify locals and catch Israel off guard –they also claimed the lives of five soldiers. As AP reported on July 29, 2014:

Al-Aqsa also broadcast a videotape it said showed an infiltration by Hamas fighters into Israel on Monday through a border tunnel. The footage showed armed Palestinians climbing out of a hole in the ground and attacking an Israeli guard post near the border. They were then seen fleeing back down the hole.

The Israeli military said Hamas infiltrated Israeli territory near a communal farm and killed five soldiers on guard nearby. A Hamas gunman was also killed in the attack. Israeli media reported a soldier shot and killed him while he was dragging one of the bodies back to the tunnel.

The Jerusalem Post reported at the time:

The five fallen soldiers were identified Tuesday morning as Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim; Sergeant Barkai Yishai Shor, 21, of Jerusalem; Sergeant Sagi Erez, 19, of Kiryat Ata; Sergeant Dor Dery, 18, of Jerusalem; Sgt. Nadav Raimond, 19, from Shadmot Dvora.

Following the correspondence with CAMERA, AP commendably updated the article, adding that five soldiers were killed in the Hamas attack. The amended article now states: “Although they did not manages to reach civilian areas, the infiltrations caught Israel off guard, killing five soldiers in one attack, and terrified the local population.”
 
CAMERA’s timely action vis-à-vis yesterday’s AP article underscores the value of the organization’s work monitoring and responding to wire stories in the same news cycle as they appear. With this preemptive work, CAMERA improves coverage in wire service stories before they appear in media outlets around the world.
 
For AP corrections prompted by CAMERA, please see here.

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