From Honest Reporting: The famine-stricken child in Gaza
It’s an image that’s been seen around the world. On front pages, in headlines, and across major news networks.
Taken on July 22 by a photographer from Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, the photo shows a skeletal child, Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, cradled in his mother’s arms. At first glance, it looks like a gut-wrenching snapshot of starvation in Gaza.
And that’s exactly how the international media treated it.
The photo was immediately framed as visual proof of a humanitarian catastrophe. More than that, as proof that Israel is deliberately starving the people of Gaza.
The Daily Express called it:
“A horrifying image encapsulating the ‘maelstrom of human misery’ gripping Gaza.”
It went on to report:
Muhammad, one, …weighs the same as a three-month-old baby, as famine slowly snuffs out life… Hunger and suffering has now reached a level never seen before with at least 12 children dying from malnutrition in the past 48 hours alone.”
Similar versions of this claim appeared in NBC News, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Daily Mail, and even BBC News, which went so far as to interview the photographer, Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim al-Arini, who suggested the image showed the starvation now afflicting the Strip.
But something wasn’t adding up.
HonestReporting was the first to highlight inconsistencies in the image set. In one of the photos, another child, reportedly Muhammad’s older brother, can be seen standing in the background. He appears well-nourished and perfectly healthy. That alone raised serious questions.
Still, media outlets continued to push the image as symbolic of a famine allegedly caused by Israel.
Then came the facts.
In a CNN report published on Saturday, the boy’s mother explained that Muhammad suffers from a muscle disorder. It’s a medical condition that requires ongoing physical therapy and specialized nutrition.
When he had access to these, she said, he was “happy” and “could sit upright.”
In other words, Muhammad is not simply a victim of starvation. His condition stems from a health disorder, not from a lack of food caused by Israel.
He is a sick child in need of medical care and specialized nutrition. Care that was once available, and could be again.
So where’s the accountability?
Yes, there is suffering in Gaza. But the blame lies squarely with Hamas. It started the war and continues to prolong it by refusing to release the hostages or accept a ceasefire. It has looted aid meant for civilians.
The UN also bears responsibility. Despite hundreds of aid trucks lined up at the border, the UN has repeatedly failed to distribute the supplies. It cites “security concerns” while continuing to blame Israel.
And then there’s the media.
Time and again, they have run with unverified images and unchecked claims. No due diligence. No questions asked. Because these stories fit the narrative they want to tell – that Israel is waging a war against a helpless civilian population.
This latest failure is part of a pattern.
A single photo cannot tell the whole story. Yet time and again, the media have used misleading images with devastating effect, even when contradictory facts emerge.
It’s time for corrections
Every outlet that promoted this false narrative must update their coverage to reflect the full truth: Muhammad has a medical condition. He is not simply a victim of starvation, and the image has been presented in a misleading and incomplete way.
Contact the media and demand corrections that include this crucial fact.
Twice now I looked up photos posted from ‘Gaza’, one came up from years ago in Syria, the other (no date given) was in India.
Yes, I commented on their lies and told them why!