Reuters screwed up: accidentally outed fake Gaza "famine" claims

The Reuters "special investigation" published this week looked into how the world tries to prevent famine, but it ended up revealing more than just the problems with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system.

While the article tried to show that the IPC isn't to blame for not stopping hunger, it accidentally pointed out big flaws in how we measure famines, especially in Gaza.

The piece talked about different famines around the world, including one supposedly in Gaza, where the IPC had warned of an "imminent famine" in the north. That famine never actually happened, and HonestReporting had already shown how the IPC backed off from their initial warning.

Reuters suggests that this wrong prediction wasn't because of bad data or overblown statements but rather because of Israel. They blame "Israeli bombing and restrictions on movement" for making it hard to gather info on malnutrition and deaths not caused by violence, but they leave out some important details.

For instance, Israel has allowed nearly half a million aid trucks into Gaza since the war began, which Reuters doesn't mention. Also, there's no talk about how Hamas has been known to steal and hoard aid.

Actually, the term "Hamas" only shows up twice in the entire 4,000-word article, and both times it's just in photo captions about the "Israel-Hamas war."

🧵 @Reuters’ “special investigation” accidentally exposes more than it intended about the so-called famine in Gaza. Spoiler: There isn’t one. https://t.co/NmFd7oHVBd

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting)

Reuters acknowledges that the IPC’s data collection in Gaza is flawed, as the organization cannot use its “preferred methods” for assessing malnutrition, allegedly due to Israel’s destruction of hospitals and clinics. This apparently includes the obliteration of all of Gaza’s scales and height boards — tools it says are critical for measuring famine.

They never mention that Hamas turned hospitals into command centers and weapons storage depots.

Humanitarian groups have reportedly trained health workers to measure children's upper arms, and this is the data used to claim there's a famine.

However, the IPC won't say who trained these workers or even who the workers are, claiming they "could be targeted by Israel."

Yes, Reuters genuinely suggests that the IDF might hunt down health workers just for reporting a famine. If this sounds like a conspiracy, that's because it is.

A more believable reason for all this secrecy might be that naming names could show that these "health workers" are also Hamas operatives.

What's even more confusing is that, despite these supposed safety worries, the IPC didn't work with Israeli officials — which they've done with other governments in similar situations. Reuters tries to explain this by saying the IPC thought Israel didn't want aid to reach the starving Palestinians.

The reality? Half a million aid trucks have made it into Gaza — even while Hamas keeps Israeli civilians as hostages.

This is the story Reuters doesn't want to tell. Instead, they go out of their way to explain why Gaza's "imminent famine" is always just about to happen but never actually does.

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