As protests erupt in Gaza against Hamas, CNN’s coverage chose a curious direction—by inviting Muhammad Shehada, a known apologist for Hamas, to comment on the situation.
Shehada, a Gazan expat featured in outlets like The Washington Post, Newsweek, and Al Jazeera, brands himself as a supporter of peace and coexistence. But beneath the surface, he routinely deflects blame from Hamas, distorts facts, and undermines Israel’s right to defend itself—even while the group continues to launch rockets and hold hostages.
In a recent interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, Shehada described Hamas’s rule as merely a “pretext” used by Israel to justify war. He portrayed Israel as the real aggressor while entirely omitting the brutal massacre of October 7 and the 59 hostages still held by Hamas—a fact neither he nor Anderson mentioned even once.
Instead, viewers were fed a contradictory narrative where Hamas is somehow both “weakened” beyond threat and simultaneously “strengthened” by Israeli action. Shehada also ignored Hamas’ documented execution of protest leaders and crackdowns on dissent.
At one point, Shehada insisted that there are officials within Hamas who are willing to step down and hand over power to an independent administrative body. But this is mere semantics meant to depict Israel as the primary obstacle to ending the war. In fact, Hamas has made no public commitment to demilitarize or relinquish control.
Perhaps most shocking was Anderson’s failure to challenge any of these statements. In platforming Shehada without pushback, CNN offered its viewers a sanitized version of Hamas’ role in Gaza—while ignoring the real voices of Palestinians courageously protesting against terror.
The people risking their lives to oppose Hamas deserve to be heard. Instead, CNN gave the mic to someone who defends the very regime they’re standing up against.
