Murderers.

Hamas terrorists’ unprovoked massacre of more than 1,000 civilian Israelis left much of the world angry, grieving and supporting retribution. But the so-called “mainstream media” has depressingly blamed Israel’s government for the outrageous carnage.

The New York Times did not use the words “terrorist’ or “terrorism’’ on its front-page coverage. The reason is plain. The paper of record excuses the monsters as justified freedom fighters.

Reuters did the Times one better, pointing the finger at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the savagery while applauding the kidnappers and mass murderers for their supposed attempts at forging a Palestinian state. But in reality, the killers of innocent men, women, children and troops have done nothing but scuttle Israel’s attempts at achieving peace.

“The Hamas attack launched from Gaza follows months of rising violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank with stepped-up Israeli raids, Palestinian street attacks and assaults by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages,” the British-based wire service reported, as if Israelis were not acting in self-defense, but had brought the savagery on themselves.

“Conditions for Palestinians have worsened under the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Peacemaking has been stalled for years.”

Peacemaking has stalled because the Palestinian government has rejected every overture for nonviolent co-existence.

“Israel’s defense minister has ordered a ‘complete siege’ on the Gaza Strip following an unprecedented incursion into Israel by Hamas fighters,’’ the American-based Associated Press reported.

“Incursion?’’ “Fighters?’’ By refusing to call the maniacs terrorists, the wire service glorifies them and turns butchers into victims. Despite having a 24-hour window in which to produce a report on terrorism, CBS’ vaunted news program “60 Minutes” did nothing on this important topic. Elsewhere on the TV network, a CBS News anchor referred to Hamas as a band of “militants’’ – and only used the word “terrorists’’ when quoting Israeli officials. The anchor thereby suggested that Israel was exaggerating the country’s agony.

The Washington Post was the rare legacy newspaper to refer to the terrorists as such in an editorial. Hooray?

“We now know that Israel’s own internal divisions, sparked by the extreme right-wing parties in Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition, and by his plan to overhaul the nation’s judiciary along lines favored by those radical forces, created an opportunity for the country’s enemies,’’ the piece continued, maddeningly blaming Bibi for the extreme violence.

The news media’s blood lust will beget more murder. And that should frighten us all.