The image of a child with a medical condition who is hospitalized in Italy is being circulated as an example of hunger in Gaza
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The Israeli agency COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) revealed another outrageous manipulation. It was a viral photograph of another Gazan child, Osama al-Rakab, five years old, also presented on social media as a "victim of starvation."
What was not mentioned was that Osama, who suffers from a severe genetic disease, was evacuated on June 12 along with his mother and brother through Ramon airport, and is currently receiving medical treatment in Italy.
"The tragic images understandably evoke great empathy," COGAT stated in a release. "But when they're used to fuel hatred and spread lies, they do more harm than good. Let's not allow compassion to be used as a weapon of propaganda".
This case adds to an image that moved the world.
A Palestinian child with a sunken face and emaciated body, identified as Mohammed al-Matouq, became a symbol of an alleged mass famine in the Gaza Strip.
The photo that went around the world, of a sick child and not one suffering from starvation
International media such as CNN, BBC, The Guardian, and The New York Times quickly placed the photograph on their front pages and headlines, using it as indisputable evidence that Israel was deliberately causing the suffering of defenseless civilians.
However, as has happened before, the story behind the image is very different.
Mohammed, born in December 2023, suffers from cerebral palsy and likely a genetic disorder that requires constant medical attention, according to a report issued in May 2025 by the Basma Association for Relief.
This crucial information was completely ignored by those who turned his face into the emblem of a propaganda narrative. Wider photographs reveal that his mother and older brother are in good physical condition, disproving the idea of an entire family dying of hunger.
The most serious issue is not only the omission of essential data, but the recurring pattern: Palestinian minors used as pawns in the image war waged by Hamas with the complicity of certain Western media outlets. The case of Mohammed is not the only one.
The comparison between both cases is inevitable.
Two gravely ill children, victims of the real suffering that exists in Gaza, but whose stories have been deliberately distorted to accuse Israel of crimes it has not committed.
Meanwhile, progressive media amplify these falsehoods, omitting that Hamas—a terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip with an iron fist—has systematically diverted humanitarian aid, stored weapons in hospitals, and used civilians as human shields.
