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NEWS OF MASS GRAVES ISN’T MUCH NEWS TO US OUTLETS  
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Xenia Gonikberg
April 26, 2024
FAIR
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_ The discovery of these mass graves “horrified” UN rights chief
Volker Turk. But it has yet to prompt so strong a reaction from
several major US news outlets. _

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The bodies of over 300 people were discovered in a mass grave at the
Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis, a Gaza city besieged by Israeli
forces. The discovery of these Palestinian bodies, many of which were
reportedly bound and stripped, is more evidence of “plausible
[[link removed]]” genocide committed by Israel
during its bombardment of Gaza. Over 34,000 Palestinians have died
thus far, with more than two-thirds of the casualties being women and
children (AL JAZEERA, 4/21/24
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Yet this discovery prompted few US news headlines, despite outlets
like the GUARDIAN (4/23/24
[[link removed]]), HAARETZ (4/23/24
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and REUTERS (4/23/24
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covering the story. Instead, headlines relating to Palestine have
predominantly focused on protests happening at university campuses
across the country
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important story, but not one that ought to drown out coverage of the
atrocities students are protesting against.

Israel’s HAARETZ noted that

emergency workers in white hazmat suits had been seen digging near the
ruins of Nasser Hospital. They reportedly dug corpses out of the
ground with hand tools and a digger truck. The emergency services said
73 more bodies had been found at the site in the past day, raising the
number found over the week to 283.

The bodies included people killed during the Israeli siege of Khan
Yunis, as well as people killed after Israel occupied
[[link removed]] the
medical complex in February (GUARDIAN, 4/22/24
[[link removed]]).
They were found under piles of waste, with several bodies having their
hands tied and clothes stripped off (UN, 4/23/24
[[link removed]]; DEMOCRACY
NOW!, 4/25/24
[[link removed]]).
Similar mass graves, containing at least 381 bodies, were found at
Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital after Israel withdrew from occupying that
complex on April 1 (CNN, 4/9/24
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The discovery of these mass graves “horrified” UN rights chief
Volker Turk (REUTERS, 4/23/24
[[link removed]]).
But it has yet to prompt so strong a reaction from several major US
news outlets.

LIMITED RESPONSE

[PBS: More than 200 bodies found in mass grave at Nasser Hospital in
Gaza Apr 22, 2024 6:45 PM EDT ]

_PBS NEWSHOUR (4/22/24
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In comparison to the widespread coverage from international outlets,
the US response has been limited at best. NEWSWEEK (4/23/24
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published an article that included claims from the IDF that the deaths
were a result of a “precise” operation against Hamas near Nasser
Hospital:

About 200 terrorists who were in the hospital were apprehended,
medicines intended for Israeli hostages were found undelivered and
unused, and a great deal of ammunition was confiscated.

The article centered on the US response to the reports of mass graves.
Along with CNN (4/23/24
[[link removed]]), NEWSWEEK included
quotes from the IDF that called reports of mass burials of
Palestinians by the Israeli army “baseless and unfounded.” Rather,
the IDF said, they were merely exhuming the bodies to verify whether
or not they were Israeli hostages.

The WASHINGTON POST (4/23/24
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relegated the news to a small section of their live updates feed:
“UN Calls for Investigation of Gaza Mass Grave; IDF Says It
Excavated Bodies.”

CNN and PBS (4/22/24
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both published relatively well-rounded reports of the discovery,
noting reports of 400 missing people and allegations of IDF soldiers
performing DNA tests on the bodies, along with accounts of people
still searching for their loved ones amidst the rubble. CNN released
an update
[[link removed]] April
24:

At least 381 bodies were recovered from the vicinity of the complex
since Israeli forces withdrew on April 1, Gaza Civil Defense
spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said, adding that the total figure did not
include people buried within the grounds of the hospital.

The update was also released to CNN‘s MEANWHILE IN THE MIDDLE
EAST newsletter.

As FAIR (11/17/23
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has repeatedly noted, coverage of the war has widely been from an
Israel-centered perspective. The CNN and PBS articles, however,
along with an NBC video
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prominently included quotes from Palestinians searching for family
members.

[NYT: U.N. Calls for Inquiry Into Mass Graves at 2 Gaza Hospitals]

_NEW YORK TIMES (4/23/24
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The same cannot be said for outlets like
the WASHINGTON POST and NEW YORK TIMES, who cited sources from the
UN and the Palestinian Civil Defense—a governmental organization
that operates under the Palestinian Security Services—but didn’t
include additional first-hand accounts from Palestinian civilians.

The TIMES said that “it was not clear where the people discovered
in the mass grave were originally buried.” It didn’t mention that
several family members of the deceased remembered where they buried
them, but were no longer able to find them, they said, due to IDF
interference (CNN, 4/23/24
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Another man, who said his brother Alaa was also killed in January,
said: “I am here today looking for him. I have been coming here to
the hospital for the last two weeks and trying to find him. Hopefully,
I will be able to find him.”

Pointing to a fallen palm tree, the man said his brother had been
temporarily buried in that spot.

“I had buried him there on the side, but I can’t find him. The
Israelis have dug up the dead bodies, and switched them. They took DNA
tests and misplaced all the dead bodies.”

PLAYING CATCH-UP

[Democracy Now: Bodies Recovered at Mass Graves in Nasser Hospital
Bear Signs of Torture, Mutilation & Execution]

_DEMOCRACY NOW! (4/25/24
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As mentioned above, US news outlets have had considerable coverage of
pro-Palestine university protests, particularly since April 18
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when more than 100 demonstrators were arrested at New York’s
Columbia University (FAIR.ORG, 4/19/24
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News of these protests have dominated US headlines since (e.g., WALL
STREET JOURNAL, 4/25/24
[[link removed]]; AP, 4/25/24
[[link removed]]; THE
HILL, 4/24/24
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while the discovery of mass graves just a few days later has received
next to no coverage in comparison. In the case of the NEW
YORK TIMES, for instance, they published just two stories (4/23/24
[[link removed]], 4/25/24
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about the mass graves since the news broke on April 21,
while publishing
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[[link removed]] campus
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the span of two days.

The NEW YORK TIMES has been telling writers not to use words like
“genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” to describe the violence in
Gaza, a leaked internal memo revealed (INTERCEPT, 4/15/24
[[link removed]]; FAIR.ORG, 4/18/24
[[link removed]]).
Accordingly, the TIMES used the phrase “wartime chaos”
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explain the mass graves, as if they were merely a side effect of war,
not the result of intentional bombing campaigns.

While some prominent US media outlets are beginning to report on this
discovery (ABC, 4/25/24
[[link removed]]; AP, 4/23/24
[[link removed]]; HUFFPOST, 4/24/24
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they are playing catch-up with their international counterparts, whose
reporting makes up a majority of search results on GOOGLE. Even
articles that do appear on the first page rely heavily on reports from
official spokespeople (e.g., SPECTRUM NEWS, 4/23/24
[[link removed]]; THE
HILL, 4/23/24
[[link removed]]).

The UN’s Turk (4/23/24
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independent investigation into the mass graves, saying “the
intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are _hors
de combat _is a war crime.” Corporate news outlets have been quick
to note that the claims of bodies being found with their hands tied
“cannot be substantiated,” despite consistent reports from both
Palestinian officials and the office of the UN high commissioner for
human rights about the condition of the bodies.

_Xenia Gonikberg is a FAIR intern and multimedia journalist. Her work
has appeared on WSHU, CT MIRROR and FAIR. She received her B.A. in
journalism and sociology from Stony Brook University in 2023._

_FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering
well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We
work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater
diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that
marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an
anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and
defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive
group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to
break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent
public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of
information._

* Gaza
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* Israeli military
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* human rights violations
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* Mass Graves
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