Al Jazeera should report, not inflame, the Gaza war

The Qatar-owned channel Al Jazeera has unjustifiably become part of the Gaza war story.

In January, two Al Jazeera reporters, Hamzah Dahdouh and Mustafa Thurayya, were killed in the war. On Monday, the Israeli military freed Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza Ismail Al-Ghoul, hours after arresting him during its renewed operations in the Al-Shifa medical compound.

Compared with other major networks, Al Jazeera has a higher number of casualties in the Gaza war, reflecting the extent of resources it is investing in its coverage.

But to what end is that coverage so intensive? Last month, Israel released pictures from the laptop of another Al Jazeera journalist, Muhamad Wishah, showing him supervising anti-tank missile training with Hamas.

Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, Al Jazeera has switched to non-stop live coverage of what it calls “the Israeli aggression on Gaza,” even though it was Hamas that started the carnage by massacring 1,200 Israelis.

And while Al Jazeera claims objectivity, its language gives away its bias – such as describing Palestinian or Lebanese deaths as “martyrs who were elevated” to heaven, while calling Israeli casualties merely “killed.” No other major Arab network uses the term martyr.

For a channel funded by a major non-NATO US ally, Qatar, Al Jazeera operates like the info-op tool of a state that is at war with the US – prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to <a href=«https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=» https: target="_blank" rel=«noreferrer noopener»>ask

his Qatari counterpart, on October 25, to tone down the channel’s aggressive language, to no avail.

Al Jazeera’s style guide about Israel is at odds with international law. The channel uses the term “settlement” to