Posted on 08/12/2025 2:57:52 AM PDT by Words Matter
COGAT @cogatonline:
Hamas's "Starvation Campaign" is a coordinated effort to mislead the public.--- Aug 12, 2025 https://x.com/cogatonline/status/1955170569239900475➡️A thorough review by the defense establishment exposes how Hamas is misrepresenting deaths from pre-existing medical conditions as malnutrition to advance their political agenda.
➡️For instance, in recent weeks, images of four-year-old Abdullah Hani Muhammad Abu Zarqa were circulated, claiming his condition was due to hunger in Gaza. A COGAT review found that he suffers from a genetic disease causing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, and bone thinning - a hereditary illness that also affected other family members. Four months before the outbreak of the war, the child traveled with his mother, with Israeli approval, to receive medical treatment at Al-Makassed Hospital in east Jerusalem.
➡️Hamas cynically exploits tragic images and misuses them for a false and timed propaganda campaign aimed at generating pressure and creating negative public opinion against Israel.
➡️We will continue working to improve the humanitarian response in Gaza, in cooperation with the international community, while rejecting allegations of famine in the Gaza Strip.
The very first starving Palestinian baby picture I saw showed a mother and a small brother of normal weight.
Maybe someone at the NYT says, ok, I have to run a starving baby picture to please the bosses and activists, but I’ll run one that makes the reader question the narrative.
Or maybe the NYT editors just don’t question the narrative themselves.
But, but, but Tucker says Israel is committing war crimes!
I trust no pictures and a lot of videos in today’s news world. If it’s not a live telecast it can be manipulated and even live telecast are suspect.
They never had to go looking for starving children in Biafra or Ethiopia or Sudan.... but in Gaza the msm has to select photos of children with underlying severe illnesses. It says something, doesn’t it?
=============================================== <>
npr.org-----Photos of a starving baby in Gaza shocked the world
Israel supporters believe the image shows how international media are "falsifying reporting" about mass starvation in Gaza.
Updated August 7, 2025, Heard on All Things Considered, By Anas Baba, Emily Feng, 4-Minute Listen Transcript
Hidayat Al-Motawaq holds her 18-month-old son, Mohammad Al-Motawaq, in their tent in the Gaza Strip on August 3, 2025. Mohammad is wearing only a diaper, and his ribs are sticking out. His limbs are unusually thin for a child of his age.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — You likely have seen the images: an emaciated Palestinian baby boy, lying limp in his mother's arms. The pictures are of 18-month-old Mohammad Al-Motawaq and his widowed mother, Hidayat Al-Motawaq, in Gaza City. Mohammad is a year and a half old and nearly all bone. His eyes protrude, as does his swollen stomach. His spine is so sharp and so defined, it seems it might poke through his thin skin. His name is Mohammad Al-Motawaq. He is 18 months old. And he is starving in Gaza The images are among those published by major media organizations, including NPR, that depict the extreme hunger that has gripped most of Gaza. NPR first met the family and photographed the family members in late July, in their tent by the Mediterranean Sea in north Gaza, where they had been displaced. Since then, the images of Mohammad have been widely circulated within Israel and around the world for a very different reason: Israel's supporters believe the images show how international media are falsifying reporting about mass starvation in Gaza.
No, Tucker does not say that.
Retired US Army Green Beret Lt Coronell Tony Aguilar SAYS THAT.
Who is a decorated combat veteran.
The Israelis ARE committing WAR CRIMES based on the Geneva Convention that we have signed on to.
Which makes us complicit because we are funding this war.
And they are right!
Please, check this thread:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4333660/posts
Contains info about Lt Col Tony Aguilar. He is not a truthful witness.
Sucker
.
Yes. In Biafra the Islamists Hausa-Fulani murdered “only” 3 million Christian Igbo....
Israel says has proof refuting Hamas claims of starvation in Gaza.
Report published by COGAT reveals that claimed victims of hunger died of pre-existing conditions; probe alleged Hamas falsifying figures in campaign to disparage Israel in the eyes of the world. Elisha Ben Kimon| Ynet, 08.12.25
Israel on Tuesday released a report it says refutes claims of starvation in Gaza in an organized media campaign. According to the report written by the IDF Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Hamas has been attempting to spread a false narrative to disparage Israel in the eyes of the world.
The report claims that there is are significant inconsistencies between the number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza and the actual figures documented and identified, including on social media.
link
Well, to be fair, with the US being a nation of obesity, I guess anyone of normal weight could be considered malnourished and starving.
Did we all notice how infamous fake-conservative “Liz” uses liberal sources regularly? Here like NPR, other times from other libs.
Yea
No, Tucker does not say that.
Retired US Army Green Beret Lt Coronell Tony Aguilar SAYS THAT.
Who is a decorated combat veteran.
The Israelis ARE committing WAR CRIMES based on the Geneva Convention that we have signed on to.
Which makes us complicit because we are funding this war.
Tucker will bring on anyone that supports that position. I’ll have to tune in to Al Jazeera to see what these war crimes are.
Sick children with preconditions, used to propagate “starvation” propaganda:
(1)
* Mohammed Zakaria Ayoub al-Matouq *
The photo of the toddler who became a symbol of hunger in Gaza: Investigation shows he suffers from genetic disease.
Photos of Muhammad al-Matouq, the emaciated Gazan toddler photographed wearing a diaper made from a garbage bag, were published in nearly every media outlet covering the crisis in the Strip; But an independent journalist finds that he suffers from a background of genetic diseases, including cerebral palsy and a lack of oxygen in the blood; which contribute to his appearance; His diseases were omitted from report, and the narrative of starvation in Gaza intensified.
Itamar Eichner | published: 07.28.25.
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/bjtpa6vvgl
One Picture, A Thousand Lies.
How Western Media Became a Mouthpiece for Gaza “Hunger” Propaganda.
Viral images portraying a severely emaciated Palestinian boy as the “face of hunger in Gaza.” The boy, used as the centerpiece of a Hamas campaign, suffers from genetic disorders and muscle conditions, a fact largely ignored by most media outlets.
Gila Isaacson.
Jul 28, 2025.
Heart-wrenching images of a severely emaciated Palestinian boy, spread by leading international media outlets as the “face of hunger in Gaza” and “proof” of widespread suffering due to the war, do not tell the full story.
An investigation reveals that the boy, Mohammed Zakaria Ayoub al-Matouq, suffers from multiple genetic disorders and pre-existing medical conditions, a fact entirely overlooked by the vast majority of media coverage.
https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/gaza-media-coverage-controversy
How Western media misused a sick child to perpetuate a false Gaza starvation narrative
The al-Matouk case is not an anomaly but rather the latest chapter in a decades-long pattern. Opinion.
Fern Sidman.
Jul 30, 2025.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412507
NYT Forced to Eat Crow After Falling for Super Obvious Lie About Israel ‘Starving’ Palestinians.
By Johnathan Jones. July 30, 2025.
https://www.westernjournal.com/nyt-forced-eat-crow-falling-super-obvious-lie-israel-starving-palestinians/
Time to call out media distortion on Gaza.
The misleading photo in The New York Times is just the tip of the iceberg - opinion.
It’s okay to report a humanitarian crisis, but as a part of the whole story, with balanced information about all the relevant actors.
By Lilac Sigan. The Jerusalem Post
July 31, 2025.
Luckily, we have Israel’s Consul in New York, Ofir Akunis. He’s the one who made the New York Times apologize for the giant photo published on its front page on July 25, featuring an emaciated baby in its mother’s arms, with a headline about starvation in Gaza.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-862783
(2)
* Osama al-Rakab *
Gaza ‘starvation’ poster child has genetic condition, left Strip with Israel’s help
“Osama suffers from a serious genetic illness unrelated to the war,” stated the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit.
JNS Staff.
(July 28, 2025 / JNS)
A Gaza boy who became the poster child for the alleged famine caused by the war in the Strip suffers from a genetic illness and was evacuated for treatment last month, the Israeli Defense Ministry said on Monday.
A picture of Osama al-Rakab, 5, was “used to falsely depict Israel as responsible for his condition, claiming Israel is starving children,” including in Italian media and on Al Jazeera, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit stated.
“Osama suffers from a serious genetic illness unrelated to the war. On June 12, we actively coordinated Osama’s exit from Gaza with his mother and brother through the Ramon airport,” stated COGAT.
The boy is currently being treated in an Italian hospital, it continued.
“Tragic images rightfully stir strong emotions, but when they’re misused to fuel hatred and lies, they do more harm than good,” said COGAT. “Don’t let compassion be exploited for propaganda.
“Check the facts before parroting blame,” the Defense Ministry unit stated, attaching a picture showing Osama in a hospital gown in Italy.
(3)
* Sila Barbakh *
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
July 30, 2025.
·
A real child.
A fake story.
📸 11-month-old Sila Barbakh isn’t starving — he suffers from a pre-existing chronic gastrointestinal illness, unrelated to the war.
But global media used his photo to push a false narrative of famine in Gaza.
This isn’t journalism. It’s propaganda.
https://www.facebook.com/IsraelMFA/posts/a-real-childa-fake-story-11-month-old-sila-barbakh-isnt-starving-he-suffers-from/1157320226425902/
Hananya Naftali
July 31, 2025.
The media showed this baby and said he’s starving because of Israel.
That’s a LIE. This is 11-month-old Sila Barbakh. He’s not starving — he has a long-term stomach illness, totally unrelated to the war in Gaza.
But anti-Israel outlets used his photo to push a fake famine story and blame Israel for something that isn’t true. This is how propaganda works. No civilian should go hungry - and that’s why Israel is delivering extra aid.
https://m.youtube.com/post/UgkxJRdtW0GSyt_qZyspblO3jDEYFV_K-o_t
(4)
* Abdullah Hani Mahmad Abu Zarka *
The Daily Sceptic.
The Media’s Complicity in Hamas Propaganda.
by Will Jones, 28 July 2025.
In the past week, a heart-wrenching image of a desperately thin Gazan child has been splashed on the front pages of newspapers worldwide and all over social media. But what none of them have told you, says David Collier, is that the child has a serious genetic disorder – and his brother is well
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/07/28/the-medias-complicity-in-hamas-propaganda/
COGAT @cogatonline
Hamas’s “Starvation Campaign” is a coordinated effort to mislead the public.
➡️A thorough review by the defense establishment exposes how Hamas is misrepresenting deaths from pre-existing medical conditions as malnutrition to advance their political agenda.
➡️For instance, in recent weeks, images of four-year-old Abdullah Hani Muhammad Abu Zarqa were circulated, claiming his condition was due to hunger in Gaza. A COGAT review found that he suffers from a genetic disease causing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, and bone thinning - a hereditary illness that also affected other family members. Four months before the outbreak of the war, the child traveled with his mother, with Israeli approval, to receive medical treatment at Al-Makassed Hospital in east Jerusalem.
➡️Hamas cynically exploits tragic images and misuses them for a false and timed propaganda campaign aimed at generating pressure and creating negative public opinion against Israel.
➡️We will continue working to improve the humanitarian response in Gaza, in cooperation with the international community, while rejecting allegations of famine in the Gaza Strip.
Aug 12, 2025
https://x.com/cogatonline/status/1955170569239900475
(5)
* Karam Khaled Mustafa al-Jamal *
Israel Defense Forces
@IDF:
Another example: 27 year-old Karam Khaled Mustafa al-Jamal died from lifelong muscular dystrophy & partial paralysis, not hunger. 3/4
Aug 12, 2025
https://x.com/IDF/status/1955171295194157294
Israel is committing WAR CRIMES based on rules of the Geneva Convention. They are committing war crimes by having the food distribution in an ACTIVE WAR ZONE in Gaza.
The majority of the people in Gaza are now in the northern third of the Strip. Which is 25 miles long. The four food distribution points are all in the southern half of the strip. The people in the northern part that contains Gaza City are NOT allowed to travel south.
Tucker did not visit Gaza. The retired LT Col was there working for the aide distribution company funded by OUR GOVERNMENT. Almost all the contractors working for these aid organizations are former US Military men.
So, are you stating that a highly decorated member of our armed forces is LYING?
Or do you just HATE the Palestinians/Muslims so much that you just don't care IF they are being starved to death?
I am a Christian. I am also a conservative.
I do not want to see children die because they happened to be born in a sh#t hole part of the world.
WE(the United States of America) are paying for this war.
That makes us complicit in these actions.
Guilt by association.
We know that Hamas started this war.
That does not give the Israelis the right to starve civilians.
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