Sally Armstrong’s September 20 opinion column in The Toronto Star, “Lebanon hosts more refugees per capita than anywhere else, but its children are caught in wars,” begins by lamenting the impact of wars on children, “who have been caught in conflicts they didn’t start,” with a specific focus on Lebanon.

A War Framed Around Israel, With Hezbollah Reduced to a Footnote

But while the commentary began with an ostensibly unobjectionable thesis, Armstrong continued to frame the war in Lebanon almost exclusively as a conflict waged by Israel, with only minimal reference to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed, openly genocidal Islamist terrorist group that calls for Israel’s annihilation.

Hezbollah Started the Wars—A Fact Left Unmentioned

Nowhere does Armstrong mention that it was Hezbollah, not Israel, which began both recent rounds of war, firstly on October 8, 2023, when it launched rockets unprovoked into the Jewish State out of solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, and again in early March, 2026, in solidarity with its patron, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It is not as if Armstrong avoided condemning politicians, with Israeli minister Itamar ben-Gvir being the only official named in the entire piece for bellicose statements he has made about Lebanon (and making no mention that Ben-Gvir was not actually in Israel’s war cabinet).

Thousands of Hezbollah Rockets Disappear From the Story

Throughout her column, Armstrong mentions the impact of war on Lebanese children, not once acknowledging the thousands of rockets fired by Hezbollah terrorists indiscriminately into northern Israel. While her focus may have been Lebanon, it is inconceivable that an article would omit such towering details about how the country was dragged into war in the first place.

Israeli Warnings Recast While Hezbollah’s Human Shields Go Unmentioned

In one case, Armstrong cites the example of Israel issuing evacuation orders to much of Lebanon, overlooking that such directives are actually meant to minimize civilian casualties, rather than exacerbate them. However, she failed to inform readers of this. Nor did she mention how Hezbollah has widely utilized civilian infrastructure, including perhaps most egregiously ambulances, in order to continue its warmaking against Israel.

Anti-Israel Advocacy Presented as Neutral Humanitarianism

The sources referenced by Armstrong include Danny Glenwright, CEO of Save the Children Canada, presenting him simply as a representative of a humanitarian organization. However, it is notable that despite Glenwright’s repeated spreading of what we regard as anti-Israel disinformation in the Canadian news media, including the false “famine” slur, Save the Children Canada has remained strikingly silent about the egregious human rights violations committed by the Iranian regime.

Controversial Sources, Crucial Context Withheld

Another source quoted by Armstrong was Human Rights Watch, another organization which critics have accused of presenting reports reflecting “the absence of professional standards, research methodologies, and military and legal expertise, as well as a deep-seated ideological bias against Israel.” She did not offer readers any insight into the controversial reputation of either Human Rights Watch or Save the Children Canada, instead presenting them as reputable humanitarian groups.

It is entirely legitimate for writers like Sally Armstrong to bring attention to the impact of war on children all around the world, including in Lebanon. But that is not all her column did. She repeatedly referenced Israeli counter-terrorism strikes, omitted critical details about how Hezbollah started and perpetuated a war against Israel (to say nothing of how it deliberately placed Lebanese civilians in harm’s way), all while quoting anti-Israel activist groups as the supposed voices of neutral humanitarianism.