On September 9, CTV Your Morning aired a report entitled: “Where Can Fleeing Palestinians Go As Israel Strikes Gaza City?” hosted by Anne-Marie Mediwake. The program featured Michael Lynk, a former United Nations special rapporteur, to discuss Israel’s counter-terrorism operations in Gaza. Rather than offering balance, the broadcast devolved into a one-sided denunciation of Israel, presenting disputed claims as fact and giving Lynk – an outspoken anti-Israel activist – an unchallenged platform.
Click below to watch the segment:
CTV introduced Lynk simply as an “associate professor of law at Western University.” What they omitted is crucial: Lynk is a longtime and aggressive critic of Israel whose tenure at the United Nations Human Rights Council was marred by accusations of bias and hostility toward the Jewish State. He has been subject to repeated condemnation for ignoring terrorism while singling out Israel for blame. Presenting him as a neutral expert misled viewers.
Lynk asserted that Gaza City was “declared to be a zone of famine,” alleging Palestinians were “starving” and surviving on “one single meal a day.” This claim is highly misleading. While the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has indeed declared a famine, these claims have been shown to be highly problematic – with the IPC’s actual standards for famine having not been met. What’s more, Lynk failed to mention the copious amounts of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, likely due to the fact that it is largely facilitated by Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). By presenting Gaza as famine-stricken, Lynk distorted reality and intentionally inflamed outrage against Israel.
Lynk also accused Israel of committing “ethnic cleansing” by urging civilians to leave Gaza City voluntarily. This is not only inflammatory; it is false. The IDF issued evacuation warnings precisely to minimize civilian casualties. International humanitarian law requires advance warning before military operations. Israel dropped leaflets, made phone calls, and used radio broadcasts to urge civilians to move to designated safe zones. Far from “ethnic cleansing,” this demonstrates extraordinary efforts to comply with international law. Further, the government of the UK has recently concluded there is no “ethnic cleansing” or genocide occurring in Gaza.
Viewers heard nothing about the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ role in creating these conditions. Hamas has diverted aid, hoarded fuel and food, and embedded its fighters in tunnels, hospitals, schools, and residential towers. When high-rise buildings are targeted, it is because Hamas uses them as command centres, sniper nests, or surveillance posts. Even the UN has acknowledged Hamas’ consistent violations of humanitarian law. Yet CTV allowed Lynk to claim destruction of buildings was inherently a “war crime,” ignoring the legitimate military purposes behind such strikes.
Lynk repeated the charge that Israel’s actions amount to “war crimes” and “wholesale destruction.” The reality is that Israel is targeting Hamas military infrastructure after the October 7, 2023 massacre in which over 1,200 Israelis were murdered and 251 taken hostage (48 of whom are still being cruelly held). Civilian suffering is tragic, but responsibility lies primarily with Hamas, which exploits its own population as human shields. A rather basic principle in international law recognizes that proportional attacks against legitimate military targets do not constitute war crimes – perhaps professor Lynk should audit an international law course at Western next semester, because he obviously missed some foundational concepts during his first try.
At no point did Mediwake challenge Lynk’s assertions. There was no pushback, no inclusion of Israeli perspectives, no acknowledgment of Hamas’ role in perpetuating Gazan’s alleged suffering, and certainly no critical thinking. Instead, CTV amplified unverified claims of famine, debunked accusations of ethnic cleansing, and non-existent war crimes. Canadians deserve accurate reporting, not the recycling of buzz words and propaganda narratives.
By giving Michael Lynk an uncritical platform, CTV Your Morning failed its viewers. This broadcast misrepresented the humanitarian situation in Gaza, ignored Hamas’ responsibility, and leveled baseless accusations of ethnic cleansing against Israel.
