In the fog of war, initial information or details of events can sometimes be incorrect. Unlike Hamas, the IDF does not knowingly lie and unlike so much of the media, the IDF will acknowledge an error and make the necessary correction.
But such is The Observer‘s (sister paper of The Guardian) apparent desire to discredit the IDF, a corrected error is worthy of a story:
The Israeli military has been forced to retract a statement claiming that the mortar shell that killed a four-year-old Israeli boy on Friday was fired from or near a United Nations school in Gaza.
After the death of Daniel Tragerman outside his home in a kibbutz near the Israel-Gaza border, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the mortar was fired from or near a school run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which was being used to shelter Palestinians who have fled their homes because of bombing and destruction.
A correction later tweeted by an IDF spokesperson, Peter Lerner, read: “After further review, the school the mortar was launched near from is not being used as a shelter by UNRWA but rather a shelter maintained by Hamas authorities in Gaza.”
“Forced to retract” the statement? This would imply that the IDF issued a correction as a result of being caught in a lie.
There is a difference between a mistake and a deliberate attempt to mislead. Perhaps The Observer and Guardian may wish to revisit the many times that they have taken Hamas and Palestinian spokespeople at face value. One thing’s for sure – Hamas won’t be making any retractions for the lies they have spread during this conflict.
