On Tuesday evening, The Washington Post issued a correction and a partial apology after it inaccurately reported on a deadly event in Gaza earlier in the week, in which the newspaper and other outlets incorrectly suggested Israel was responsible for the deaths of over 30 civilians.
In a post shared on X, the newspaper acknowledged the error, writing, “deleted the post below because it and early versions of the article didn’t meet Post fairness standards.”
The paper explained that its initial coverage stated that “Israeli troops had killed more than 30 people near a U.S. aid site in Gaza,” and that this claim was attributed to “health officials” in the headline.
“The article failed to make clear if attributing the deaths to Israel was the position of the Gaza health ministry or a fact verified by The Post,” the statement continued. The updated version, posted later on Sunday, clarified that “there was no consensus about who was responsible for the shootings and that there was a dispute over that question.”
While all versions of the report included Israel’s response that it was unaware of any injuries it may have caused, the newspaper admitted that “The Post didn’t give proper weight to Israel’s denial and gave improper certitude about what was known about any Israeli role in the shootings.” It concluded, “The early versions fell short of Post standards of fairness and should not have been published in that form.”
According to reports that circulated on Sunday, Palestinian Arab sources claimed that an Israeli military strike had taken place near a humanitarian aid center in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah, killing over 30 people and injuring many more. These allegations were widely picked up by global media and fueled international backlash.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces issued a statement denying the claims, saying, “The IDF is currently unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site. The matter is still under review.”
Later, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) released footage from security cameras positioned at the aid site during the time in question. The video did not support the accusations made by Palestinian sources and contradicted the reports of a strike in that area.
That same evening, the IDF shared results from its preliminary investigation. The findings confirmed that Israeli troops had not opened fire on civilians in or near the aid center, discrediting the earlier accusations.
The military emphasized its cooperation with humanitarian organizations, stating that its operations are conducted in partnership with groups like the GHF to ensure aid reaches Gazan civilians—not Hamas.
“Hamas does everything in its power to undermine food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that starves and endangers the population in order to preserve its control over the Gaza Strip. As part of its brutal behavior and its attempts to disrupt humanitarian aid, Hamas directly harms the residents of Gaza,” the IDF stated.

{Matzav.com}