Disinformation experts and other journalists spread the Hamas narrative that Israel deliberately targeted a hospital despite limited evidence and a denial from the IDF.
Hundreds of people were allegedly killed Tuesday night after explosion at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas.
Gazan authorities immediately blamed Israel despite conflicting reports about who is responsible. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson denied Israeli responsibility and alleged that a rocked launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad misfired and struck the hospital. President Joe Biden, who traveled to Israel on Tuesday, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it appears “the other team” is responsible for the incident. (RELATED: CNN’s Phil Mattingly Pushes Back Against Palestinian Legislator When He Tries To Blame Israel For Hospital Bomb)
NBC News deputy tech editor Ben Goggin tweeted screenshots of the outlet’s report with the headline “200-300 killed in bombing of Gaza hospital, Palestinian Health Ministry says.” The attached screenshots explained that health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qudra said Israel was responsible. Al Qudra is a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, not for the Palestinian Health Ministry.
As Congress distracts the US by continuing to trip over itself, schools and hospitals are reportedly being bombed by Israel in Gaza, claiming hundreds more lives https://t.co/ccvpxVaunp pic.twitter.com/giMQca0W0N
— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) October 17, 2023
NBC disinformation reporter Ben Collins tweeted a screenshot from Sky News that read, “At least 500 people killed in hospital bombing in Gaza, Palestinian officials claim.”
“A hospital,” Collins captioned his tweet, neglecting to mention that Israel denied involvement or that the source of the information was a terrorist organization.
A hospital.https://t.co/89u4hcqMED pic.twitter.com/VmrLXHSWVM
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 17, 2023
Israel later denied any involvement.
NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny tweeted that it was “impossible … to tell what’s real or fake on [Twitter] anymore.”
I’m so angry about how impossible it is to tell what’s real or fake on this site anymore. There’s nowhere else to go so we all just stay here and act like anything is reliable. It wasn’t perfect but now all guardrails are gone, replaced by perverse incentives to fake. It’s awful.
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) October 17, 2023
Max Blumenthal, an editor at The Grayzone News, tweeted video footage allegedly showing the incident with the caption that “Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel killed over 500 people in a targeted strike on the Ahli Arab hospital.”
“These are scenes from immediately after the Israeli strike,” the tweet continued.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel killed over 500 people in a targeted strike on the Ahli Arab hospital.
Initial estimates had the death toll at 200-300. These are scenes from immediately after the Israeli strike. pic.twitter.com/lHkjZravJA
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) October 17, 2023
Reuters’ White House Correspondent Nandita Bose, who claims in her Twitter bio to tweet “facts not opinions,” repeated the terrorist group’s claim that Israel carried out the strike without even citing her source.
GAZA, Oct 17 (Reuters) – An Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed hundreds of Palestinians at a Gaza City hospital crammed with patients and displaced people.
The reported strike was the bloodiest single incident since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign against Gaza.— Nandita Bose (@nanditab1) October 17, 2023
“An Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed hundreds of Palestinians at a Gaza City hospital crammed with patients and displaced people,” she wrote. “The reported strike was the bloodiest single incident since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign against Gaza.”
The Wall Street Journal led its website with the headline, “Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Hospital Kills More Than 500, Palestinian Officials Say.”
The Associated Press offered a similar initial assessment, reporting “Hundreds killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City hospital, Health Ministry says,” before stealth editing their article twice. The was eventually updated to read, “Blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital; Hamas and Israel trade blame.”