NYT Condemned for Clarifying Starving Palestinian Child's 'Preexisting Health Condition'

As the U.S. corporate media stepped up its coverage last week of the impact Israel's near-total blockade on Gaza is having on Palestinians, at least 154 of whom have now starved to death, Israeli officials zeroed in on just one of the children featured in a New York Times report.

After suggesting that his case showed reports of starvation in Gaza are overblown, they evidently managed to convince the newspaper to issue a clarification.

The Times mentioned Atef Abu Khater, a 17-year-old whose father said he was "not responding to the treatment" he was getting for severe malnutrition, and four-month-old Yahia al-Najjar, who died on July 22 after his mother, who was subsisting on one serving or lentils or rice per day, was unable to nurse him.

But the Israeli media and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which facilitates humanitarian aid in Gaza, focused on the story of 18-month-old Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, whose mother told the Times, "I look at him and I can't help but cry."

I24 News reported Wednesday that after the story was printed, COGAT "publicized records showing the child suffered from severe preexisting medical conditions."

Al-Mutawaq was born with cerebral palsy, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday, adding that the Israeli government had uncovered another photo of the child's family in which his older brother looked "distressed but relatively healthy."

"Their mother also does not appear to be suffering from any symptoms of starvation," the outlet mused.

Children are most at risk for being severely impacted by hunger and starvation, and often die at twice the rate of adults, according to the International Rescue Committee.

As images of Al-Mutawaq's mother holding his skeletal body were published by other outlets, the U.S.-based pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting also took notice.

The photos, said the website, were being used "as visual proof of a humanitarian catastrophe. More than that, as proof that Israel is deliberately starving the people of Gaza."

Israeli officials themselves have said they are deliberately starving the people of Gaza, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying in May that Israel would let only the "tiniest amount" of aid into the enclave so the world would "continue providing us with international protection." International human rights groups and experts have assessed that Israel is carrying out a policy of deliberate starvation.

Nonetheless, HonestReporting demanded that "every outlet that promoted this false narrative must update their coverage to reflect the full truth: Mohammad has a medical condition."

Late on Tuesday, the Times appeared to respond to the outcry.

In addition to publishing an addendum to its initial reporting, the newspaper's communications department issued an official statement.

It emphasized that children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, and noted that it had learned of Al-Mutawaq's health condition.

"We... have updated our story to add context about his preexisting health condition," said a spokesperson. "This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation."

In at least one case, the communications department directly responded to a pro-Israel journalist who had said photos of Al-Mutawaq did not show "the face of famine."

The Times did not suggest Al-Mutawaq's health condition negated or lessened the impact of the malnutrition he is also suffering from.

But a number of observers were aghast at the paper's apparent decision to appease the Israeli government and pro-Israel groups and media outlets that had suggested reporting on Al-Mutawaq's case was "misleading" and "playing into the hands of Hamas' propaganda war."

"If a publication ran an editors' note to 'clarify' that some portion of Nazi death camp victims had preexisting conditions, it would rightfully be accused of Holocaust denialism," said writer Natalie Shure. "This is one of the most depraved things The New York Times has ever published."

Some emphasized that the news of Al-Mutawaq's health condition hardly vindicates Israel, especially considering that the Israel Defense Forces have decimated Gaza's healthcare system since they began bombarding the enclave nearly 21 months ago.

"This actually makes it even more grotesque," said Nathan Robinson of Current Affairs. "Of course the first people to die have preexisting health problems. Starvation is a eugenic policy which first kills off the weakest and sickest. Israel acts like proving 'preexisting health problems' is a defense. It's an indictment."

Some pro-Israel entities appeared to view the Times' addendum and statement as something of a victory, with the right-wing news outlet The Daily Caller writing that the newspaper was "forced to backtrack on reporting of Gazan child after getting key element wrong."

The Times' move didn't stop others from criticizing the newspaper. The Instagram account Jewish Lives Matter said the spokesperson's statement didn't reverse the "journalistic malpractice" the paper had committed. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the Times was guilty of "blood libel"—a reference to medieval antisemitic allegations that Jewish people used the blood of Christian children in rituals.

As for the Israeli government, hours after the Times issued its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs moved on to criticizing media outlets for printing photos of another emaciated child: Osama al-Raqab, who has cystic fibrosis in addition to suffering from malnutrition brought on by Israel's blockade.