Report: NYT Twice Changes Reckless Headline: ‘Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say’

White House Hamas
Anas Alkharboutli/picture alliance via Getty Images, Mario Tama/Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

The New York Times reportedly edited a headline twice on Tuesday about a blast that blew up a Gaza hospital, changing the title each time to reflect less blame against Israel for the tragic explosion.

After the blast, multiple pieces of evidence emerged from the Israel Defense Forces and the media that suggested the blast was an errant rocket fired by Hamas, not an Israeli airstrike. As the evidence came to light, the Times altered its headline.

WATCH — NBC’s Bash: Media Caused an Anti-Israel Fervor by Taking the Word of Terrorists at Face Value:

“Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say,” the original headline read.

The second headline dropped the Israeli accusation but still called the blast a “strike.” “At Least 500 Dead in Strike on Gaza Hospital, Palestinians Say,” it read. 

The third headline dropped the word strike, a word that could insinuate an Israeli airstrike. “At Least 500 Dead in Blast at Gaza Hospital, Palestinians Say,” it read.

It is not the first time the Times changed its story about the recent conflict on the Gaza Strip’s border. The paper published a story last week referring to Hamas as “Hamas terrorists” before revising it to “Hamas gunmen.” The Times revised the story a second time on Wednesday to “Hamas terrorists” after backlash.

WATCH — CNN’s Gotkine: Media Coverage Blaming Israel Means It Won’t Matter if Israel Proves Its Innocence in Hospital Blast:

Several leaders also rushed to blame Israel for the hospital blast, even though multiple pieces of evidence suggested the contrary as authorities gathered information. Among them was Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and radical Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak reported the evidence that suggested the hospital explosion was not from an Israeli airstrike:

The IDF determined none of its forces were operating in, or targeting, the area of the hospital. It studied radar it uses to intercept Palestinian rockets to determine that a barrage of rockets had been fired along a path that intersected with the airspace above the hospital.

It also studied surveillance camera footage of the Gaza Strip, and concluded an errant Palestinian rocket was to blame.

WATCH — IDF: Media Blindly Believing Hamas Propaganda on Hospital Explosion Is Causing Violence:

“The IDF released an intercepted recording of a phone call between two Hamas operatives discussing the hospital explosion, and saying that the rocket had been launched by PIJ from a cemetery next to the hospital (itself a violation of international law),” Pollak concluded.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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