Mailbox: The uncomfortable truth about the media machinery in the Middle East

Key topics:

• Hamas uses civilians as human shields to manipulate global perception

• Media spreads staged or misleading content that fuels anti-Israel sentiment

• Aid shortages in Gaza often caused by Hamas looting, not Israeli restrictions

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By Thando Nzimande*

Every war has two fronts: one on the battlefield, and one in the battle for global perception. Israel fights both. The world sees Gaza through the camera lenses of Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, CNN, The New York Times, and The Independent. The stories they tell are simple: Palestinian civilians suffer, Israel is to blame. Images of dead children and desperate families flood the headlines. Reports claim “dozens killed by Israeli forces” and “only 86 aid trucks entering Gaza.” But this is not journalism, it is a carefully constructed narrative that rewards Hamas’ strategy of human shields and punishes Israel for defending itself.

The reality is not what the media sells. Hamas has engineered civilian suffering as a weapon of war. It embeds its rocket launchers, weapons depots, and command centres inside neighbourhoods, schools, and hospitals. It fires missiles from next to aid queues and hides fighters in mosques. Every time a civilian dies, Hamas gains a propaganda victory. Israel is forced to strike military targets surrounded by civilians, not because it wants to harm innocents, but because Hamas has turned its own people into human shields. International law calls this a war crime. Major networks call it “breaking news.”

The manipulation of truth is not new. In 2000, France 2 broadcast the infamous Mohammed al-Dura video, claiming Israeli soldiers killed a boy in Gaza. The footage was later revealed to be misleading, possibly staged, and the boy may not even have been killed by Israeli fire. In 2014, Israel was accused of bombing a UN school which was later confirmed to have been hit by a misfired Hamas rocket. In 2023, global headlines accused Israel of bombing the Al-Ahli Hospital, claiming 500 dead. Within 48 hours, Western intelligence and independent video confirmed the blast came from a failed Palestinian rocket, and the actual death toll was far lower. But by then, anti-Israel protests had erupted worldwide. The initial lie spreads like wildfire; the correction barely flickers. This is the media ecosystem Israel is forced to fight.

In recent years, even more disturbing revelations have exposed how far this manipulation goes. A BILD investigation showed that certain Gaza-based photographers orchestrated scenes of suffering to amplify Hamas’ narrative, turning streets into stages and civilians into props for emotional, viral images. One widely circulated photographer was caught arranging shots to maximise the appearance of Israeli brutality, fully aware that Western media outlets would publish these photos without questioning their authenticity. Such staged imagery, sometimes described as “Pallywood,” blurs the line between reporting and propaganda, yet it drives international outrage and pressures Israel in the court of global opinion.

This problem extends beyond photos. A detailed Honest Reporting investigation revealed that several freelance photographers working for AFP and other major agencies were embedded with Hamas fighters during the October 7 attacks, even crossing into Israel alongside the terrorists. Their cameras captured the horror as it unfolded, but their presence raises fundamental ethical questions. Some of these same outlets later asked Israel to protect their staff from harm, even as evidence emerged that those freelancers had effectively collaborated with a terrorist organisation’s assault. This hypocrisy highlights the depth of media compromise: journalists are not merely documenting the war, they are, at times, participating in Hamas’ propaganda machinery.

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The same distortion fuels the narrative of “aid starvation.” Reports that “only 86 trucks enter Gaza daily” deliberately omit the reality that Israel authorises and facilitates far more aid convoys than the public is told. The real choke point is Hamas, which loots up to 95% of World Food Program trucks before they reach ordinary civilians. Witnesses and humanitarian monitors have documented how these supplies are seized, diverted to fighters, or sold on the black market, leaving ordinary Gazans in desperate conditions while Hamas strengthens its war machine. Yet the world’s blame is directed at Israel. This is not just dishonest reporting; it is propaganda that emboldens terrorists and prolongs civilian suffering.

Media outlets also cherry-pick any hint of internal dissent to portray Israel as morally fractured. Headlines about “550 former Israeli security officials calling for a ceasefire” omit that many of them support continuing the mission to dismantle Hamas and only advocate temporary pauses to retrieve hostages or deliver aid. A ceasefire without Hamas’ disarmament is not peace, it is a pause before the next massacre. Israelis know this. The media will not say it, because nuance does not trend, and unfortunately the truth does not go viral.

Israel, meanwhile, continues to fight a war unlike any other. It issues warnings before strikes, facilitates medical evacuations, and coordinates with the UN to deliver aid, even as rockets rain on its cities. No other country in modern warfare demonstrates this level of restraint, yet no other country is vilified like Israel. The real difference is not morality; it is media framing.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is tragic and real, but the world must face the uncomfortable truth: it is not the product of Israel defending itself, but of Hamas sacrificing its own people and the media amplifying that sacrifice as spectacle. Every misleading headline, every unverified statistic, every selective image, and every staged photo is another weapon in Hamas’ arsenal, handed to them by journalists who know better but choose narrative over truth. Even worse, the involvement of freelancers embedded with Hamas during the October 7 attacks shows that some members of the press are no longer innocent observers but active conduits of terror propaganda.

Here is the reality the media won’t tell you: Israel is fighting a war it did not start, against an enemy that hides behind children, while the world condemns it for refusing to die quietly. Hamas wants civilian deaths because it knows the cameras will do the rest. Israel wants security, survival, and peace but it will not achieve that by surrendering to propaganda.

Until the world stops rewarding lies, stops broadcasting staged suffering, and starts holding Hamas accountable, Gaza will remain a hostage, not of Israeli policy, but of terror and the global media machine that feeds it. And that is the ultimate tragedy of this war.

*Thando Nzimande is a writer and postgraduate student whose leadership journey is rooted in four impactful years on the Wits SRC Subcommittee. He served in the offices of the: Treasurer General, Academic Officer, and Bursary & Fundraising Officer, championing student welfare, academic access, and financial support. This experience shaped his strong commitment to equity, accountability, and public service. Ziyanda is currently pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Management in Monitoring and Evaluation, with a focus on data- driven impact. He holds an Honours degree in Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Health Science in Biomedical Science. His writing draws from this unique blend of student leadership, academic rigour, and a passion for meaningful change.