We've seen horrible reporting regarding what happened at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza.  

Here's a sample of what a lot of the media ran with, in the immediate aftermath of the incident, not appearing to check on the claims but just taking the reports from Hamas. 

Media outlets around the globe were quick to run Hamas’ headlines—without fact checking.

We now know that an Islamic Jihad rocket aimed at Israel misfired and hit the hospital in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/DzJgsbxS4i

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023

As we reported, in the clear light of day, the evidence shows it wasn't Israel that caused the blast. Joe Biden said as much during his remarks with Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the Defense Department concurred it wasn't Israel.

But the media couldn't be bothered to do their due diligence, or even wait until the facts were in. 

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Jonathan Conricus was interviewed by the BBC, and he used it as an opportunity to let them have it for their reporting and to eviscerate the media in general for their failure to confirm the facts before running with the story. 

Apalled by the double standards in reporting: breaking coverage on @BBCWorld automatically blames Israel for an explosion at a Gaza hospital, based solely on what terrorist Hamas claims!
And when we investigate and refute the claims, evidence must be delivered. I have no issue… pic.twitter.com/EJTOLFKmk7

— Jonathan Conricus (@jconricus) October 18, 2023

"I listened in to your correspondent...where he says with absolute security and drama that this was an Israeli missile. What was that based on?" Conricus asked his BBC interviewer.

"In fairness," the host pushed back before saying the correspondent in question said there was a "claim" that it was an Israeli missile.

"No, he said in the beginning, a 'missile' strikes the hospital — he begins very dramatically," Conricus responded. "He's saying it was a 'missile' based on Hamas information. He hasn't been on the ground, he hasn't verified it himself, he's taking Hamas information and displaying that as the truth," Conricus emphasized.

The BBC reporter said they "put in the claim and the counterclaim." But you don't just run a "claim" because someone says it. I could say the sky is purple. Should you run it because I claim it, or say, "Um, well, maybe the facts are that it isn't purple." You, as a journalist, are required to do some diligence to determine the veracity of the claim. But if the media isn't reporting the objective facts, they are just doing "both sides" without any reality. And one of those sides is a terrorist organization not known for telling the truth. The interviewer refuses correction, then just moves on to trying to grill the IDF spox about another attack without any responsibility for what they'd done. But at least they let the IDF guy continue to speak, while he ripped them a new one.  

Conricus said they are only targeting Hamas, not civilians. 

The interviewer then talks about the evidence they have to provide the U.S. 

"We are dealing with the most ruthless and vile organization," Conricus continued. "We've spoken about the atrocities...but there's also the other domain of information here. We have seen Hamas do the most despicable acts against Israeli civilians and against its own civilians and I think that it is about time for journalists who are doing their professional duty as journalists to act extremely cautiously when starting reporting of events with casualties in Gaza," he warned. "All of the information coming out of Gaza is run and ruled by Hamas and they have no issues with lying — they don't answer to anybody — they are not beholden to truth and they don't care to lie and distort and to misrepresent events on the ground as long as it serves their purposes and they can blame Israel," Conricus reminded. "This appears to be just such an example of an event that happened that we did not do, that happened as the result of a misfire, and immediately — almost immediately — the first response is blaming Israel for the attack without checking the data," he added of the latest egregious show of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel bias.

That disinformation from Hamas was then used to spark protests and riots outside of a variety of embassies including those belonging to the U.S. in Beirut and Israel in Amman, Jordan. Had the media done their job, it would have been harder for Hamas to spin. 

The IDF put out another example of the bias from the BBC. 

The BBC claims to be impartial and independent…

But we were unable to verify those claims.

Instead they choose to believe a genocidal terrorist organization ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hi8jc4cLiy

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023

The IDF put the media on their heels before when they tried to ask them about the "price of war," as we reported.

ABC to IDF members: "There are those voices there, across this region and elsewhere who say the price of military action is too great, that too many civilians are now dying. Too many Palestinians dying."

Israeli solider: "We are in a full war here. The responsibility isn't on… pic.twitter.com/n8HX5poIHC

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 16, 2023

Israel isn't trying to take out civilians, they're fighting for their very lives against terrorist organizations and terrorist states that want to wipe them off the planet. 

The media should learn their lesson from this incident. But I wouldn't bet on it.