Over 500 Muslims and Christians had taken shelter in the Greek Orthodox Church of St Porphyrius from the ongoing bombardment.
Although major news organisations had reported the senseless attack, CNN and BBC, which most of us depend on for world news, have played down, if not ignored the news.
Instead, these two international news outlets were busy trying to justify that the bombing at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City was from a purported failed rocket of an Islamic jihad group.
Both CNN and BBC, with their supposedly team of forensic experts, have put up analyses of videos and photos suggesting that the deadly explosion occurred after a rocket launched from within Gaza broke up midair and partly landed on the Christian medical complex.
US President Joe Biden has backed Israel’s stance on the blast, even as he expressed ‘’outrage and was deeply saddened".
But they are unlikely to convince the Muslim world, and even many non-Muslims around the world.
Many have also wondered why these media reports have left out the full name of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, which was founded in 1882, and is managed by the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem.
It has always been reported as just the Al-Ahli Hospital, giving the impression it is a Muslim medical complex. The word ‘’Baptist’’ is missing in all the news reports.
In the case of the Greek Orthodox Church, the building has collapsed following the explosion.
This time, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to bombing a command-and-control centre belonging to Hamas but said the church was not the target of the strike.
According to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Vatican News reported that among the victims were several young Christians, who were part of the ‘’Employment Generation Project’’ for Christian youth.
The building is located a few hundred metres from the Holy Family Catholic Church, where a further 500 Christians are sheltering, it reported.
The World Council of Churches has condemned the attack, urging the world community to enforce protections in Gaza for sanctuaries of refuge, including hospitals, schools and houses of worship.
This is the first time that Israel has targeted the Greek Orthodox Church as in 2014 when it was reported that around 2,000 Palestinians fleeing Israeli bombings had taken shelter at the same church but over 70 of them were killed at the complex.
During the bombings, families had reportedly slept in the corridors and rooms of the church and adjoining buildings, where they were provided meals and medical care.
This time, on Oct 19, the Israelis shot four missiles at the complex, and as the death toll continues, no one is sure how many more are trapped under the rubble.
Israel has tried to downplay the incident, saying it was ‘’still reviewing’’ the case.
What we are seeing is that these big Western news agencies are setting the narratives of Palestinians being supporters, if not, members of militant terrorist groups.
In the United States, university students who have openly expressed support for the Palestinians have been threatened with actions including even having their funding withdrawn.
Hamas is no angel, but the Western media has unfairly focused on the group as the sole antagonist while the historical and myriad factors, while complex, have been totally ignored.
Instead, the simplistic narrative is that the attack on Gaza Strip is the result of Palestinian provocation and Israel retribution.
So, the world is now fed the argument that the Palestinians deserve to be wiped off from the face of Gaza, and the next West Bank, because they deserve it. In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was the Palestinians who started it.
The Gaza conflict isn’t just a physical war, but it is being waged on social media as well as by the various powerful news organisations to shape opinions around the world.
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Wong Chun Wai
Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 35 years in various capacities and roles. He is now group editorial and corporate affairs adviser to the group, after having served as group managing director/chief executive officer. On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.
