AP Amends Captions: Israel Denied Responsibility for Baby, Woman’s Deaths

In response to communication from CAMERA’s Israel office, the Associated Press today amended several photo captions which only cited Hamas’ claim that an Israeli airstrike killed a one-year-old baby in Gaza and her relative, but which ignored Israel’s denial, ignoring that the circumstances of their deaths are disputed.

A sampling of the original captions follows:

 

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian 14-month-old, Seba Abu Arar, during her funeral in Gaza City, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Gaza’s Health Ministry says a Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli aircraft hit near their house. Abu Arar, 14-month-old, died immediately and her pregnant relative died later, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A relative of a Palestinian 14-month-old, Seba Abu Arar, carry [sic] her body of the morgue of the Shifa hospital before her funeral in Gaza City, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Gaza’s Health Ministry says a Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli aircraft hit near their house. Abu Arar, 14-month-old, died immediately and her pregnant relative died later, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

 

Palestinians pray over the body of a 14-month-old, Seba Abu Arar, in the morgue of the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Gaza’s Health Ministry says a Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli aircraft hit near their house. Abu Arar, 14-month-old, died immediately and her pregnant relative died later, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

As Agence France Presse reported this morning (“Israel army denies Gaza mother, baby killed by Israeli strike”):

Israel’s army on Sunday denied claims from Gazan authorities that an Israeli strike killed a pregnant Palestinian mother and her baby, saying Hamas was to blame for the deaths.

“The terror organisations’ propaganda at its finest,” Israeli army spokesman Ronen Manelis said on Twitter.

“The mother and girl they’re claiming in Gaza that were killed in an (Israeli) attack were killed by Hamas use of weapons,” he added, without providing further details.

(Later, the family clarified that the woman, Falastin Abu Arar, is the baby’s aunt, and not her mother.)
After CAMERA contacted the AP, editors commendably added the following information to all of the captions:
An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday that a detailed review found that a Palestinian rocket had misfired and killed them.
In addition, all of the amended, refiled captions are very clearly marked with the heading: “CAPTION ADDITION: ADDS THAT ISRAELI MILITARY DISPUTES IT WAS RESPONSIBLE.”

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