NY Times acknowledged that it participated in a media operation against Israel

The damage is already done. The image of little Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a visibly emaciated child, appeared on the cover of the New York Times  as visual evidence of an alleged widespread famine in Gaza, fueling the narrative that Israel is deliberately causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

International media outlets such as BBC, CNN, and Daily Express echoed the story  using the same photo, without bothering to verify the story behind the face.

Now, quietly and without fanfare, the New York Times has admitted that the child suffered from cerebral palsy and other genetic diseases that affect his appearance.

They learned this, according to the newspaper itself, thanks to the Consulate General of Israel in New York, which informed them—with medical evidence—that the case was being manipulated by Hamas as part of its propaganda war.

As if that were not enough, the correction was not even published from the newspaper's main account, which has more than 50 million followers. Instead, a secondary account from the Press section was used, with only 89,000 followers. A drop in the digital ocean.

The Consul General of Israel in New York, Ofir Akunis, was clear and precise:
"It is unfortunate that international media outlets fall time and again for Hamas's propaganda. First they publish, then—if at all—they verify."

None of these media outlets took the time to investigate Mutawaq's story.

One heartbreaking image and a pre-established narrative were enough: Israel bad, Gaza victim. The truth, complex and often uncomfortable, was left aside.

That Hamas exploits images of sick children to spread its message is not surprising. Hamas has done so for years: human shields, schools turned into arsenals, ambulances transporting rockets.

What should surprise—and outrage—is that major Western media outlets continue to play along, acting as megaphones for a terrorist organization.

The State of Israel released a second image of Mutawaq with his mother and brother, showing that his physical condition is not the result of hunger but of chronic illnesses.

Even so, this clarification received little attention. As so often happens, viral misinformation spreads at full speed, while the truth—when it manages to emerge—barely crawls.

The Mutawaq case is not a minor error or a simple editorial slip. It is a symptom of a broader trend: the predisposition of much of the international press to accept any accusation against Israel without the slightest skepticism.

This time it was a child with cerebral palsy. Tomorrow it will be another manipulated image, another inflated headline, another lie shared millions of times.