The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today sent a letter to America’s largest media outlets calling on them to consistently broadcast video footage of the Israeli government’s ongoing destruction of Gaza City, including the killing dozens of children on a daily basis.
The Israeli government is currently bombing residential areas across Gaza City, killing as many as 100 people every day. This includes dozens of children, according to local media outlets and health officials.
Video of the aftermath of those bombings recorded by civilians and local journalists commonly appears on Al-Jazeera, social media, and independent media outlets, but far less often on mainstream American media outlets.
In a letter to news executives at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper wrote in part:
“While images of the destruction and its aftermath circulate widely on international and independent media outlets, such footage does not appear with the same frequency in mainstream American media.
“What’s happening in Gaza is the global story of our time. The American public deserves the opportunity to witness the full human impact of the Trump administration’s support for the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza City.
“Rescue workers, survivors and local journalists who record the aftermath of destruction in Gaza readily make their videos available for use by the public and other media outlets; indeed, the purpose of filming the videos is for the world to see it. Although we recognize that some violent footage must come with a warning or blurring, there is no reason not to regularly broadcast at least some of the footage.
“We urge you to show, with the consistency and urgency this moment requires, videos of the children and families suffering and dying under Israeli bombardment with American weapons, just as many independent and foreign media outlets do.
“Giving airtime to the documntation of civilian suffering—particularly of children—is not only a matter of journalistic integrity, but also of moral responsibility.”
Yesterday, CAIR said new data from a United Nations committee showing that Israel has wounded more than 40,000 children in Gaza — resulting in at least 21,000 children being permanently disabled — is the latest proof the Trump administration and members of Congress are supporting the “maiming and murdering of children” by funding and enabling the genocide in Gaza.
At least 30 percent of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza are children. Out of 370 malnutrition-related deaths as a result of the Israeli-induced famine, 131 are children.
Nick Maynard, a British doctor who recently returned from Gaza, says that Israeli forces regularly target the chest, abdomen and testicles of young Palestinian men. He said one colleague reported treating “four young teenage boys” who had been “shot in the testicles.”
On Tuesday, Israel slaughtered seven children as they tried to collect drinking water.
Israeli media and The Guardian report: “A classified Israeli army database indicates that the vast majority of the 6,000 Palestinians who have been arrested in Gaza and held in appalling conditions in Israeli detention are civilians, a joint investigation finds.”
Children, sick and disabled people are among those kidnapped by Israel.
Israeli terror forces have slaughtered more than 63,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children. Even Israeli data shows that 83 percent of those slaughtered were civilians.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com