Since Hamas’s barbarism on October 7, 2023, one of the worst broadcast network correspondents has been CBS’s Debora Patta in sucking up to the Palestinian cause (read: Hamas). It was thus unsurprising her lead-off segment on Monday’s CBS Mornings actually gave equal time in the three-minute-and-24-second segment to the 20 living Israeli hostages and the nearly 2,000 Palestinians being released from Israeli jails for a slew of offenses, including some serving life sentences.
Patta began with the Israeli side after a set-up from co-host Tony Dokoupil remarking “all of the emotion really roared to the surface this morning” in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square once the living hostages were released.
“A very good morning, Tony. Well, people here cannot say it enough. The 20 living hostages are home. They were released by Hamas from two separate locations and after being handed over by the Red Cross to the Isreali military, inside Gaza, they were taken to an army base and reunited with their families,” she began.
Patta concluded the Israeli portion by remarking the hostages were “overjoyed” while “[f]or the families that never gave up, today is filled with firsts,” whether it be simply “reunion” or “screams of joy.”
“As the hostages were driven into Israel, people lined the streets to welcome them. And here in Hostage Square, jubilation,” she said.
It then pivoted to Palestinians by saying the release of hostages (by whom?) “means they, too, can begin to imagine a life without war” plus “250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and around 1,900 detainees arrested since October 2023” leaving jail cells.
Without explaining why they were detained and what crime(s) they committed to further Hamas’s aims, she instead turned up the Hamas propaganda (likely thanks to their producer inside Gaza):
This woman is expecting the release of her brother. “I feel a mix of happiness and sadness, she said, he is coming home, but others have died.” His little daughter is anxious. “I’m waiting for my dad,” she exclaimed. This mother is hoping her son is among those freed. “He is the light of my life,” she said.
Why these alleged family members were imprisoned? Patta wouldn’t say. That would likely mess with the public image of these carefully-selected anecdotes.
The same could be said for her refusal to entertain why aid had stalled in Gaza and implied Israel has “deprived” Gazans “of basic necessities for so long”:
The ceasefire deal is a lifeline for Gaza. Desperately needed aid can finally flow into the territory to help ease the dire humanitarian crisis. Days on from the start of the ceasefire, look at these scenes. Gazans deprived of basic necessities for so long, they are battling for every scrap. Buried beneath the rubble, are countless stories of lust and pain. Each one personal. Together, according to Gaza health officials, they make up over 170,000 injuries and more than 67,000 deaths.
She threw in a few seconds for the deceased Israeli hostages to close things out: “And in Israel, there is sadly also another first, the first day of mourning for families whose loved ones were killed in Hamas captivity. We understand four of the 28 hostages killed, those bodies will be handed over today, so that they can be laid to rest[.]”
Thankfully, Dokoupil provided more focus later in the show on what should be the dominant story of the day:
He also didn’t lob softballs to the Israeli side either:
In that same interview, Dokoupil asked whether Hamas or Israel’s perception worldwide is the greater threat going forward (click “expand”):
DOKOUPIL: What’s a bigger threat to Israel? Hamas in Gaza or public opinion around the world?
SA’AR: We — the Hamas, is part of an evil axis, attacked Israel from seven fronts. You know it very well. We were attacked from Iran. We were attacked from Lebanon. We were attacked from Yemen. We were attacked from Iraq with a plan to eliminate this state. Hamas is the closest —
DOKOUPIL: Yes.
SA’AR: — part of this axis. But we were under existential threat and we, our soldiers, fought bravely in order to remove it and we were successful with that. And a bad PR is, of course, something that I cannot underestimate as foreign minister. But I would say surviving is a bit more important.
DOKOUPIL: Well, as the President has said, the victories militarily, may they now translate into victories diplomatically, and I know you’ll be part of that.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from October 13, click here.