In the world of journalism, there are understandable errors, and then there are the types of errors that make you wonder whether the journalists are living in the same reality. Falling into the latter category is an article today from CNN entitled “Israeli airstrike kills three sons of Hamas political leader in Gaza as ceasefire talks stutter,” authored by Jeremy Diamond, Kareem Khadder, Zeena Saifi, and Benjamin Brown.
Towards the end of the article, the authors write: “International pressure to reach a ceasefire deal is mounting as the devastation and suffering in Gaza from Israel’s blockade on aid…” Throughout the war, there have been many outrageous accusations against Israel, from committing “genocide” to lying about Hamas’s use of sexual violence. But CNN’s new accusation of a “blockade on aid” is perhaps the most evidently absurd of them all, as the barest minimum amount of research would expose the lie. In fact, the journalists could simply have consulted the reporting of two of their colleagues from the day before to discover their error.
The truth: nearly 300 humanitarian aid trucks entered into Gaza on April 10 alone, bringing the total to over 24,400 aid trucks since October 7. Far from “blockading” aid, the entry of every single one of these aid trucks was facilitated by the Israeli Defense Forces, who have even opened crossings directly from Israel into the Gaza Strip to increase the flow of aid.
Even the United Nations, which has been trying to deceive the public on this topic, doesn’t claim there is a “blockade” on aid.
The claim by the authors is thus rather astonishing. It demonstrates either a lack of even the most basic knowledge about the conflict or a willingness to tarnish Israel’s reputation with no regard for the truth.