The AP strikes again in the June 2 story “31 Palestinians are killed heading to a Gaza aid site, witnesses say. Israel denies responsibility” by Mohammad Jahjou and Samy Magdy. The AP story cites both “health officials” and “witnesses.”
According to the story, “Witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds just before dawn around a kilometer (about 1,100 yards) from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation.” Neither Jahjou nor Magdy was a witness, of course. Indeed, Magdy is based in Cairo. And “health officials” — you know who they are. They are Hamas.
The second and third paragraphs of the AP story draws on a statement from the IDF:
Israel’s military denied its forces fired at civilians near or within the site in the southern city of Rafah. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with procedure, said troops fired warning shots at several suspects advancing toward them overnight.
The military also released drone footage it said was shot Sunday, apparently in daylight, in the southern city of Khan Younis, showing what it said were armed, masked men firing at civilians trying to collect aid. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video, and it was not clear who was being targeted.
Go back to the lede of the story. The AP could not “independently verify” that either. However, they don’t say so. The AP is making an in-kind contribution to the Hamas cause.
By the way, ABC News sourced the same story to “the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.” ABC just mainlines Hamas propaganda directly.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Alana Goodman follows up in “US- and Israeli-Backed Gaza Aid Group Suing AP Over ‘Categorically False’ Story.” Alana notes: “Hamas has fervently opposed the [Gaza Humanitarian Foundation]’s aid operations in the Gaza Strip—the terrorist group previously controlled, stole, and profited from outside aid supplies intended for Gazan civilians. The GHF said Hamas has killed at least 12 of its volunteer aid workers and placed bounties on the heads of others.”
Alana also links to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation statement released in response to the linked AP story:
GHF launched an immediate investigation when the Associated Press first brought these allegations to our attention. Based on time-stamped video footage and sworn witness statements, we have concluded that the claims in the AP’s story are categorically false.
At no point were civilians under fire at a GHF distribution site. The gunfire heard in the video was confirmed to have originated from the IDF, who was outside the immediate vicinity of the GHF distribution site. It was not directed at individuals, and no one was shot or injured.
What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations. If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action.
The primary source for the story is a disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct weeks before this article was published. That fact, combined with the AP’s refusal to engage in good faith prior to publication, undermines the credibility of their reporting. Their coverage of our aid operations has increasingly echoed narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health. In response, we are pursuing legal action.
We take the safety and security of our sites extremely seriously. When behavior falls short of our standards, we act. The contractor seen shouting [“Hell, yeah, boy”] in the video was removed from our operations.
We remain focused on delivering food to the people of Gaza safely, directly, and without interference. That mission is too important to be derailed by misinformation.
Alana adds that the GHF confirmed it would take legal action against the AP but declined to provide further details. and that an AP spokesman said the AP “stand[s] by the story.”
And hell, yeah, boy, the Washington Post got in on the act too. As Alana points out: “The Post eventually issued a correction—after stealth-editing its story—and announced that its coverage ‘fell short of’ the paper’s standards.”
People are being shot and firebombed because of things like this. The American media is getting people killed pic.twitter.com/DY3GxORv8W
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 4, 2025
