MSNBC issued a correction Tuesday after the network aired a false claim that a young Gaza boy had been killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a humanitarian aid distribution.
MSNBC amplified claims from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) contractor Anthony Aguilar, a 25-year U.S. Army veteran and retired Green Beret lieutenant colonel, who said on air that he saw a boy he called "Amir" gunned down by IDF forces outside a GHF distribution site on May 28. The child has since been found alive, and GHF sent a letter to MSNBC urging an update.
"All In" host Chris Hayes told viewers he had "good news" to share but did not mention Aguilar’s earlier MSNBC interview.
"An update on a different story we covered here, this one from the end of July. You may recall in our coverage of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the role played by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. We played a sound bite of that Senator, Chris Van Hollen, speaking with an eyewitness, a U.S. veteran who was working for GHF as a contractor at an aid site in Gaza," Hayes said.
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MSNBC host Chris Hayes told viewers that a Gaza child reported as dead was found alive. (MSNBC/Screengrab)
"In that conversation, Anthony Aguilar relayed a story of one specific young boy who, just after he was able to collect life-saving food, Aguilar said was struck down and killed by gunfire from the IDF," Hayes continued. "We noted at the time that the Gaza Humanitarian Fund [sic] denied Aguilar’s allegations. But now we can report the little boy he spoke of was, in fact, not killed."
Hayes told MSNBC viewers that the GHF last week held a news conference to announce they had found the child, and he had not been shot.
"NBC News producers confirmed the boy is alive, and has been evacuated outside Gaza with his mother," Hayes said.
Hayes only mentioned Aguilar’s comments that were aired on his program via Sen. Van Hollen, but MSNBC also conducted an Aug. 2 interview with Aguilar in which he amplified his false claims on "The Weekend: Primetime."
MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital when asked if "The Weekend: Primetime" will also issue an update.
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Last week, the eight-year-old — whose real name was confirmed by the GHF to be Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, but who goes by "Abboud" — and his mother answered questions provided by Fox News Digital through a GHF translator, in which the pair appeared excited ahead of their planned extraction from the Gaza Strip.
Aguilar claimed that he and the boy had a touching moment where Abdul kissed his hand and then his face in apparent thanks for the food supplies. The former Green Beret said that the boy then ran back to the group of other Palestinians who were shortly after forced to leave the aid site after pepper spray, tear gas and stun grenades were employed, he claimed in his interview with MSNBC.
Aguilar – who was employed as a contractor for UG Solutions, a subcontractor for GHF – then said he heard shots fired after the Palestinians had left, and upon reaching the scene, he found Abboud and others had been shot by the IDF.
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MSNBC helped promote false claims by former GHF contractor Anthony Aguilar, who appeared on "The Weekend: Primetime." (MSNBC/Screenshot)
The GHF, who terminated Aguilar’s contract in June, launched an investigation at the end of July to try and locate the identity of the boy and uncover what happened. Through their investigation, which relied on speaking with local Palestinians, they eventually tracked down Abboud’s mother and her son.
The identities of Abboud, his mother and other relatives were verified by GHF by using facial recognition software that compared the images of the boy with those captured by Aguilar, along with biometric data shared with Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.