The Israeli Hospital Bombing That Never Happened

Written by Anthony Constantini

First, it was reported that Israel struck a hospital in Gaza on October 17, killing about 500. “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say,” wrote the New York Times, echoing numerous other corporate media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, Axios, Politico, and the Associated Press. The outlets used images from a completely different area.

• Keep in mind: At this point, the only evidence for any attack was a statement from Hamas. A flurry of information online, including footage, pointed to a failed missile launch from within Gaza.

Then, doubts emerged after Israel quickly blamed Islamic Jihad, a Gazan terror group. Around this time, the Times changed its headline to a more skeptical “At least 500 Dead in Strike on Gaza Hospital, Palestinians say.”

• Note: For almost twelve hours, almost no media outlets reported the evidence disproving Hamas’s claim. Hamas used the sympathetic coverage to demand that the world “take action,” and world leaders quickly condemned Israel.

Finally, pictures emerged, revealing that only a parking lot was hit, not a hospital. The surrounding buildings appeared mostly intact, with the exception of shattered glass. As for casualties, an independent analyst found that 30-50 people in the parking lot may have been killed.

Now: It is clear that there weren’t 500 deaths and that the missile almost certainly came from Palestinian terrorists.

• However, the New York Times only changed its headline to “At least 500 Dead in Blast at Gaza Hospital, Palestinians Say” — even though, as of now, the only evidence for such a high death count is the word of a terror organization.