HonestReporting Canada

Before October 7, Hamas, the Islamic terrorist organization which has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, hadn’t just amassed a huge number of active fighters; it had also created a veritable army of supporters. From hostages being kept in civilian apartments, to Hamas terrorists actively dressing as civilians, to Gazans actively masquerading as United Nations workers for the benefit of the media, Hamas’ reach extends far beyond its active combatants, and it’s time the news media tell the truth: that Hamas has actively tried to blur the line between civilian and combatant in Gaza.

Even after Hamas showed the world its true face on October 7, it did not take long for the world to start equivocating between the terrorist group and Israel, a liberal democratic state. But Hamas is just one terrorist group among many; and following a stabbing attack in Germany on August 23 committed by the Islamic State, will the news media recognize the threat that radical Islamic terrorism poses globally, or will it continue to find excuses to legitimize or rationalize Hamas’ actions?

Eighty years ago, the Allies fought the Nazi regime, seeing no choice other than total victory, and the dangers inherent in allowing evil to flourish. But today, Israel – built upon the ashes of the Holocaust – is told to negotiate with Hitler’s ideological heirs, Hamas, which seeks to annihilate Israel, home to half the world’s Jews. But any settlement less than Hamas’ total defeat is not only a defeat for Israel, it is a victory for radical Islamic terrorism, even as it threatens the entire Western world.

In recent days, Israel struck an operations centre in Gaza, killing dozens of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists. But the news media and world leaders didn’t wait for details, instead opting to condemn Israel almost immediately. This tendency – condemn Israel first, ask questions later, if at all – is the rule, not the exception, made all the more egregious given how much Hamas lies to the world, with no consequence.

At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Israel is on a roll, winning a record number of medals from its athletes. But beyond bragging rights, the Jewish State has sent a powerful message to the despotic and theocratic regimes in the Middle East, particularly in Tehran: that when a country prioritizes peace, its own people will benefit. That message must be taken, not just by the peoples of the Middle East, but by news outlets around the world, because the more that they blur the distinction between liberal countries and fanatical ones, the more they serve to oppress hundreds of millions of people in the Middle East.