Israel’s Foreign Ministry charged that the New York Times attempted to weaken the impact of a newly released 300-page report detailing widespread immoral violence carried out by Hamas during and after the October 7 attacks, accusing the paper of publishing misleading claims just before the report’s release.

In a statement, the ministry said the timing of the article was intentional and aimed at casting doubt on the findings of the Civil Commission report. “The New York Times, in service of a Hamas-driven narrative, deliberately timed its piece to undermine today’s horrific Civil Commission report documenting Hamas’ preplanned, systematic [immoral] atrocities on Oct. 7 and against hostages thereafter – attempting to create false equivalence and belittle documented crimes,” the ministry stated.

The ministry further criticized the article’s sourcing, arguing that it relied on unverified allegations and questionable organizations. It stated that the New York Times piece was “built on unverified claims and Hamas-linked sources like EMHRM. No evidence. No verified complaints. A politically driven smear campaign by a biased paper designed to support efforts to blacklist Israel. The ministry demanded that “this disgusting shameful piece must be removed immediately.”

In an additional statement, officials sharpened their criticism of the report, saying” “This isn’t journalism. It’s Hamas propaganda, a distortion of the truth and the facts all serving an anti-Israel agenda.”

The report at the center of the dispute, released Tuesday by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, is titled ‘Silenced No More: The Untold Atrocities of October 7th and Against Hostages in Captivity.’

According to the commission, the findings are based on extensive documentation, including testimony from more than 430 survivors, eyewitnesses, and medical personnel, as well as over 1,800 hours of video and photographic material, some of it recorded by Hamas operatives themselves during the attacks.

The controversy intensified a day earlier when New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof published an opinion article alleging widespread immoral abuse of Arab detainees in Israeli prisons. The column drew criticism from Israeli officials and others who argued that it relied heavily on anonymous accounts and questionable sources, including an organization accused of promoting unfounded claims about Israeli conduct.

{Matzav.com}