INCLUDING WOMEN AND CHILDREN

I am confused by the reporting on the recent Israeli artillery mishap in the Gaza strip which killed a number of civilians. First look at the reports and then I will explain why I am confused.

This from the New York Times:

BEIT HANUN, Gaza Strip, Nov. 8 — Israeli tank shells killed 18 Palestinians, including eight children and six women, at a cluster of houses here on Wednesday, one of the largest single losses of life in Gaza in years.

Read the entire article *HERE*.

From the AP:

…18 members of a family, including eight children, were killed in an Israeli artillery barrage on a densely populated Gaza neighborhood.

Read the article *HERE*.

From the Guardian:

Yesterday's victims were all civilians and mostly women and children. Their deaths will fan the flames of a conflagration in danger of getting out of control.

The rest of it is *HERE*.

From Reuters:

Thirteen members of one extended family were killed and the dead included seven children and four women, residents and the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

*HERE* is the rest of it.

(I added all the bold.)

So why am I confused? Because these news organizations never report how many women and children were killed when a suicide bomber blows themselves up in an Israeli pizza parlor or a bus. They will report total casualties but never break the figure down. That seems as if they are slanting the news to gain more sympathy for the Palestinians. What could be the reason for this? Why would a news organization slant the news?

Could it be they are afraid of Muslim reprisals if their reporting doesn’t favor the Muslims? We all know the Muslims are capable of reprisals, don’t we?

In that case it would simply be cowardice. That I can understand. Only a fool has never been afraid.

Or could it be that the Muslims insist on favorable reporting for a news organization to remain in their area of control?

In that case it would simply be business. Just like the Mafia, it is nothing personal. It is just business.

Either way, they seem to be slanting the news. Either way, they have a good reason.