On Monday and Tuesday, brutal footage emerged of Hamas terrorists carrying out public executions of those they claim were disloyal and “collaborators with Israel,” just hours after the ceasefire went into effect as part of President Trump’s historic regional peace deal. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, ABC completely omitted this disturbing turn from their flagship evening and morning newscasts.
Instead, chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannell eagerly peddled Hamas propaganda hook, line, and sinker.
Pannell declared on Tuesday’s World News Tonight that “[i]n Gaza, some of the nearly 2,000 prisoners taken by Israel and held without charge also reporting abuse.”
He then used video taped inside Gaza (likely from a local producer) of a man “detained for 20 months saying he was told his family had been killed. It was a lie.
“‘I was released, not knowing if my family was alive. It was a beautiful feeling to find them,’ he says...[T]his dispute about Hamas disarming and the return of bodies underscores how immense the challenges ahead are, but President Trump clear he wants a wider Middle East peace and that means solving Gaza once and for all,” he added.
Pannell returned for Wednesday’s Good Morning America to shovel another sob story instead of showing the brutality of Hamas:
Palestinian prisoners released by Israel now returning to a home that’s unrecognizable. This man came back to find his wife and children had been killed. “My daughter’s birthday was supposed to be five days,” he says. “My loved ones, they are dead.” The United Nations and aid organizations now hoping to scale up operations to begin to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Although they had part one of CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil’s exclusive with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tuesday’s CBS Evening News also omitted the executions from its coverage.
That said, Wednesday’s CBS Mornings did have a partial segment on this disturbing display of Hamas’s brutality, underlining the need under President Trump’s 20-point plan for Hamas to disarm:
NBC provided a welcome contrast with two mentions on Tuesday’s NBC Nightly News and once on Wednesday’s Today. Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas even mentioned it in his opening remarks from Tel Aviv:
Citing the emotional reunions of Israeli hostages with their families, Llamas pitted those as a splitscreen to what Hamas was doing with its alleged newfound freedom: “This as Hamas gunmen were seen conducting public executions, despite the peace deal’s requirement to disarm.”
NBC’s Today had chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake delivered this disturbing scene:
To see the relevant transcripts from October 14, click here (for NBC). And to see the transcripts from October 15, click here (for CBS) and here (for NBC).