Editors’ note on Gaza hospital coverage
The Hamas-run Health Ministry and the Israel-Israel War on Rakes that Kill: The Gazan Blast Revisited
The Hamas-run health ministry has also declined to release further details about those 471 victims, and all traces of the munition have seemingly vanished from the site of the blast, making it impossible to assess its provenance. Raising further questions about Hamas’s claims, the impact site turned out to be the hospital parking lot, and not the hospital itself.
But in the days since, as new evidence contradicting the Hamas claim has emerged, the Gazan authorities have changed their story about the blast. Spokespeople have released death tolls varying from 500 to 833, before settling on 471.
On Sunday, Hamas turned down requests by The Times to view any available evidence of the munition it said had struck the hospital, claiming that it had disintegrated beyond recognition.
A senior Hamas official in a phone interview said the missile dissolved like salt in the water. It is no longer standing. Nothing is left.”
The leader of the Hamas government media office said in a text message that whoever says they are obligated to give the remnants of rockets that kill people is ignorant. You can research the evidence we possess, and make a decision for yourself.
The Times’s initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast. There were early versions of the coverage that relied too much on claims by Hamas and not made clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.
The death toll might be lower than initially reported due to the disputed claims of responsibility, and the Times continued to update its coverage. Within two hours, the headline and other text at the top of the website reflected the scope of the explosion and the dispute over responsibility.
Times editors should have made sure that the information they presented was accurate, as the news was sensitive and the promotion it received made it even more important. In order to find out what additional safeguards may be needed, the leaders of the newsroom continue to examine procedures around the biggest breaking news events.
Hamas on Sunday denied the New York Times’ request to see any available evidence of the munition it said had struck the hospital, claiming that it had disintegrated beyond recognition. A senior Hamas official in a phone interview said that the missile dissolved like salt in the water. The Times reported that Israeli military said it was investigating the blast.