The New York Times discredited its own reporting this week after the newspaper had leveled false accusations about starvation in Gaza. The news outlet has now quietly admitted it made a huge error by showing a provocative image of an emaciated child without reporting that he actually had a pre-existing medical condition.
Critics of the Times say it’s more than an error, calling it “propaganda” and “blood libel.”
In its shocking report, the Times ran a photo of an emaciated child named Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, with his spine and rib cage visible through his skin.
But now it has become clear that the photo of the sick boy, shown in their front page article, wasn’t proof of Gaza starvation because his pre-existing medical condition is what made him look that way. The child actually suffers from the genetic disorder cerebral palsy.
The post quickly traveled around the world, repeated by the BBC, CNN, Daily Express, and others. And The Jerusalem Post reports that the Times only amended its story after the Israeli Consulate General in New York pointed out the error. The correction wasn’t highly publicized as the original front-page article was, either. Instead, it was admitted on the Times‘ much smaller PR account on X with only 89,000 followers compared to 55 million on its main account.
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Here’s how the Times excused its massive error: “This article has been updated to include information about Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition. After publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it’s a clear example of the Times and other news outlets “playing into the hands of Hamas’ propaganda war.”
Adam Rubenstein, an editor and writer who formerly worked for the NY Times Opinion section, also weighed in, criticizing the response. “If you read carefully, this is an admission of a remarkable deception. They ran a story about malnutrition but didn’t include the context that the malnutrition is not caused by a lack of food, but by a pre-existing condition, a disease that affects the child’s ability to thrive.”
If you read carefully, this is an admission of a remarkable deception. They ran a story about malnutrition but didn’t include the context that the malnutrition is not caused by a lack of food, but by a pre-existing condition, a disease that affects the child’s ability to thrive. https://t.co/wnzXJOlByo
— Adam Rubenstein (@RubensteinAdam) July 29, 2025
Israel’s i24news reports former Israeli prime minister and current Knesset member Naftali Bennet is accusing the NY Times of spreading disinformation and “intentionally” fueling “a blood libel” that has led to a “tsunami of hate” against the Jewish state.
And Israel’s X account points out that the boy’s brother and mother are well fed and healthy by comparison, further disproving the anti-Israel starvation narrative being pushed by the establishment news media.
Unlike his brother standing by his side, Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq suffers from cerebral palsy.
But BBC, CNN, Daily Express, and The New York Times spread a misleading story using a picture of a sick, disabled child to promote a narrative of mass starvation in Gaza —… pic.twitter.com/UzP5PhNSvU
— Israel (@Israel) July 29, 2025
Israel also pointed out several additional cases of disinformation being promoted by the media in an effort to undermine Israel, including the case of a boy named Osama al-Raqab with cystic fibrosis.
This is what a modern blood libel looks like:
A sick child. A hijacked photo. A lie that spreads faster than truth.
His name is Osama al-Raqab. He has cystic fibrosis, a serious genetic illness.
He’s been in Italy receiving treatment since June 12.
Israel enabled his medical… pic.twitter.com/cCY2GYmKLj— Israel (@Israel) July 28, 2025
After the Times issued its semi-retraction, pro-Palestinian vandals lashed out and attacked the newspaper’s offices in New York, spray painting “NYT LIES, GAZA DIES” on the front windows of the New York Times building.
Meanwhile, Israel’s leaders have been working in recent weeks to make their ongoing aid efforts more visible, airdropping aid and allowing visits to food storage centers in Gaza.
The IDF reports more than 850 aid trucks entered Gaza over the past week. And as CBN News reported, Israel also connected a power line to increase clean water output in Gaza by five million gallons per day.
Israel has facilitated consistent humanitarian aid deliveries of food for Gazans throughout the war that Hamas instigated on October 7, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued this week that if Israel hadn’t been doing that, there wouldn’t be anyone left in Gaza. “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,” Netanyahu argued.
Despite the evidence, Israel is left to fight a PR battle along with its military battle for survival as it tries to rescue 50 hostages still being held by terrorists in Gaza.
Avi Abelow, host of Pulse of Israel, told CBN News, “Israel is dealing with an immoral and an evil enemy – a genocidal enemy (that) massacred, mass raped our citizens – and an immoral, morally confused West that’s making us feed our enemy, even though it’s known that Hamas itself takes the aid and sells it at exorbitant prices to its own people.”
