The Globe and Mail’s coverage of the Middle East continues to misinform Canadians, not simply for what it publishes, but for what it chooses to ignore.
In Gaza, the newspaper’s coverage of Hamas, the openly genocidal Islamic terrorist group that has ruled for two decades, devoting its dispensable resources towards trying to kill as many Israelis as possible, is notable for relying on reporters such as Mark Mackinnon, whose social media regularly features anti-Israel content, and local Gazan Hassan Jaber, who spread vicious anti-Israel propaganda before being hired.
Eric Reguly’s coverage is no better. The European bureau chief has published lengthy Hamas talking points without challenge or context, and has told emotional stories of Gazan suffering while overlooking the central responsibility of Hamas in that suffering.
In his April 22 article that was given prominent placement on the Globe’s front page, “Gaza’s destroyed universities pivot to online teaching as they wait to rebuild,” Reguly told readers about the state of universities in Gaza, writing that schools there have migrated to online courses due to the impact of war.
Among the universities he profiled is Islamic University of Gaza, writing that it currently sits “in ruins.”
There was no mention by Reguly as to why the campus had been damaged in the war, with the tacit implication being that Israel bombed a civilian target for no ostensible reason.
Israel has specifically stated that Islamic University “was being used as a Hamas training camp for military intelligence operatives, as well as for the development and production of weapons.”
Reguly spoke of “destroyed campuses,” but never once mentioned Hamas command centres embedded in Gaza schools or Hamas rockets fired from Gaza schools or, 20 rockets stored at a Gaza school.
It was also remarkable that no Israeli voices were quoted in the article to bring such necessary context.
Hamas’ use of civilian infrastructure is extensively documented, far past the point of reasonable doubt. Whether Reguly personally believes or disputes these documented war crimes on the part of Hamas is irrelevant; as a journalist, he is duty-bound to acknowledge these allegations as they pertain to the story. But he did no such thing, effectively erasing any inconvenient context entirely out of the article.
While The Globe and Mail’s readers may assume that civilian infrastructure like schools, hospitals and private homes are sacrosanct and not to be used in warfare, Hamas – and other similar Islamic terrorist groups – have not only failed to follow such rules, they have instead enthusiastically embraced using civilian buildings to house combatants, weapons and even hostages.
Some of the most notable cases include the Gaza headquarters of UNRWA, where directly underneath it, Israeli troops found a significant Hamas communications centre, as well as Nasser Hospital, the largest health complex in Gaza, where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) openly admitted the presence of armed Palestinian terrorists and even weapons.
Elsewhere, at Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital, Israel stated that the complex hid tunnels with no medical use, including blast-proof doors, and alongside a vehicle storing a large number of weapons. The Israeli military later shared video footage from inside the tunnel.
But instead of providing readers with a fulsome picture of what was happening inside Gaza under the oppressive thumb of Hamas, The Globe and Mail’s Eric Reguly instead offered a superficial and emotional tale of damaged universities, without bothering to explain what circumstances actually caused those events.
