Media

‘Those Numbers Are Provided By Hamas!’: Mehdi Hasan Gets Into Shouting Match With Israeli Official

[Screenshot MSNBC]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
Font Size:

MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan was called out by an Israeli official for peddling Hamas data talking points, sparking a shouting match between the two.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s adviser, Mark Regev, joined Hasan Thursday to discuss the ongoing war in Israel. Hasan then cited a figure from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry that 11,000 Palestinians are dead, including 4,000 children. Those numbers have not been verified.

Hasan argued that Hamas, in past conflicts, has reported a death tolls that matched Israeli military death tolls and were deemed credible by the United Nations. The New York Times reported that while the United Nations and human rights organization cite the ministry’s death tolls and say previous ones have been consistent, they cannot actually confirm the figures.

“Will you allow me to challenge that, please? Can I just challenge that?” Regev interjected.

“Briefly.”

“I’ll try to be as brief as you are, Sir. Those numbers are provided by Hamas. There’s no independent verification. And secondly, more importantly, you have no idea how many of them are Hamas terrorists, combatants, and how many are civilians. Hamas would have you believe that they’re all civilians, that they’re all children.

“And here we have to say something that isn’t said enough. Hamas, until now, we’re destroying their military machine, and with that, we’re eroding their control,” Regev continued. “But up until now, they’ve been in control of the Gaza Strip. And as a result, they control all the images coming out of Gaza. Have you seen one picture of a single dead Hamas terrorist in the fighting in Gaza? Not one. Is that by accident or is that because Hamas can control– Hamas can control the information?”

“You asked me a question and you said you would be brief. I haven’t. You’re right. But I have seen lots of children with my own lying eyes being pulled from the rubble,” Hasan said. (RELATED: FACT CHECK: Image Of Woman In Destroyed Home Was Not Taken In Gaza)

“Because they’re the pictures Hamas wants you to see! Exactly my point!”

“But they’re also your government has killed. You accept that, right? You’ve killed children? Or do you dent that?”

“No, I do not. I do not. I do not. First of all, you don’t know how those people died, those children.”

The two began to talk over one another with Hasan conceding “we shouldn’t blindly believe anything Hamas says.”

“But why should we believe what your government says either?” Hasan pressed, citing a video circulating on Twitter which claims to show an IDF spokesperson citing a calendar as a terrorist document.

Regev then jumped in to say that the Israel military is willing to accept mistakes on their behalf, saying that the nation had to revise their casualty count down by approximately 200 victims because they had “overestimated.” Regev also said some of the bodies discovered that had been burned actually belonged to Hamas terrorists.

“When we make a mistake, we admit it,” Regev said. “Why does that give you permission to accept Hamas’ numbers?”

“Because the entire U.N. and the human rights community and the American intelligence community on Friday said they trust those numbers. But you’re dodging my question, Mark,” Hasan said before again pressing Regev to answer for the aforementioned video.

Regev said he was unfamiliar with the incident before turning his attention back to Hamas and their alleged data points.

“But there’s a difference between making an honest mistake and between Hamas, that deliberately exaggerates numbers to suit its propaganda purposes. There’s a huge difference.”

Hasan then turned the focus toward a tweet from another Israeli official who posted footage from a Lebanese short film but claimed it was video evidence of Palestinians faking their own injuries.

“Is that not propaganda?”

“Once again, I understand that that was also a mistake,” Regev said, offering to speak to his colleague about the post.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel