In the first days of the war, as global media outlets started broadcasting the horrifying events, news emerged of 40 decapitated Israeli babies, presumably by Hamas. The story was repeated in many outlets including CNN and the BBC by both reporters and guests. At one point, even US President Biden alluded to it in his “I stand with Israel” speech.
As an Arab American, I was appalled and horrified. Regardless of political and ideological differences that one could have with anyone, and the vacillating acceptance of the inevitability of civilian deaths coming from both sides in an interminable 75-year conflict, this would be a red line of barbaric proportions that no human could ever accept. It does not pertain to any faith or civilization and cannot be justified whatsoever. But then I began to wonder:
Who were these babies? Were they all together in some daycare center, or pre-school, or hospital incubator in a mass killing so often tragically perpetrated in the United States? Which hospitals received them and why weren't there reporters at the scene? When were they counted and by whom? Why wasn’t there any footage of any doctor coming out to speak of them? Were there any death certificates? How come no relative of any of these babies has stepped forth to identify them, parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt, anyone? Where were they laid to rest? Above all, why have these babies not been honored with a mention of their name or a national burial worthy of their innocent sacrifice?
Although many questions emerged, curiously few if any journalists asked or probed guests on their shows who were making those claims. Why was that? Surely, an astounding claim such as this that shakes the moral fiber of our very humanity deserves to have some physical evidence presented. But none has emerged so far, except for what appears as a grainy picture of a slain baby, shown to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, hardly the beacon of earnest truth. While the picture may very well have been that of an innocent Israeli baby victim, why didn’t Netanyahu show pictures of the 39 others?
In the ensuing days, as the aerial bombardment of Gaza began, news of more children deaths emerged, this time with hundreds of Palestinians. This in itself did not come as a surprise as anyone with minimal knowledge of the region would know that there are almost 1 million children in Gaza, some fifty percent of the population. So statistically up to half of civilian casualties are likely to be children. And indeed, hospitals and international relief agencies in Gaza soon began reporting the trickle, come flood of those deaths.
Meanwhile, the story of the 40 babies has begun winding down, with some outlets quietly rescinding it and even Joe Biden retracting some of what he had stated in his speech. Still notwithstanding the possibility that the US President may have fallen victim to false propaganda, no major outlet has come out to report on such a massive rescinding as they are accustomed to. Why the hush? In all fairness, the New York Times did have an article on fake stories fueling the war, including gaming videos and old footage from Latin America being used as propaganda, but not much else has been made of what seems to be a central justification by Israel to compare Hamas to ISIS and proceed with what could end up being genocide and the banishment of 2 million Palestinian from Gaza, against all international norms and law.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been going on for more than 75 years and understandably elicits the most primal of emotions from many, beyond just Arabs and Israelis. Misled emotions driven by propaganda, however, often lead to oversized reactions that only serve to cloak real agendas, ultimately hurting vastly more innocent civilians. It is here that responsible journalism takes on a crucial dimension of reporting the truth wherever it leads. In the end, this might be the only way for us all to keep our humanity and moral compass intact. Alas, if the media is forced to turn a blind eye, it would be complicit not only in spreading news of the fake killing of forty babies, but the real perishing of entire generations of babies on both sides of the conflict and their dream of peace.
