How Western media headlines manufacture consent for genocide of Palestinians

By Alireza Akbari

In another deadly escalation, the Israeli regime launched devastating airstrikes on Gaza in the early hours of Tuesday, killing more than 400 Palestinians—most of them women and children.

The aggression followed nearly ten days of escalating tensions, as the Israeli regime repeatedly breached the terms of the initial Gaza ceasefire agreement by enforcing a crippling blockade.

The blockade prevented essential supplies such as food, fuel, and vital medical aid from entering the besieged strip.

On Tuesday, as families sat down for their pre-dawn Ramadan meal, more than 20 Israeli warplanes unleashed a wave of airstrikes across Gaza, hitting multiple civilian locations. 

The indiscriminate attacks came on the 18th day of the holy month of Ramadan, as people were excitedly looking forward to Eid festivities after nearly two years of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

The airstrikes tore through densely populated neighborhoods, makeshift schools, and residential buildings—places where civilians had sought refuge.

In the aftermath of the carnage, social media was flooded with harrowing videos of families rushing the wounded to hospitals. 

Among the most heartbreaking images was that of an elderly man cradling the lifeless body of a young girl in his arms, his voice shaking as he cried out, “Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best disposer of affairs.”

At the morgue, another gut-wrenching scene unfolded—a young man moving desperately through the rows of the dead, searching for a loved one. When he finally found them, he didn’t scream or collapse. Instead, he simply stood there, silent, as tears streamed down his face.

The resumption of full-scale Israeli bombardment has plunged Gaza into further devastation, shattering an already fragile ceasefire with Hamas—one Israel had repeatedly violated over the past weeks.

Following the deadly attacks, Hamas held the Israeli regime responsible for the massacre while pointing to Washington’s direct involvement, stating that “the acknowledgment by the US administration that it was informed ahead of the Zionist aggression confirms its direct participation in the genocidal war against the Palestinian people.”

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Hamas warned that the Israeli airstrikes and the regime’s decision to “overturn the ceasefire agreement” would put captives in Gaza at “an unknown fate.”

Meanwhile, as Israel ramped up its assault, Western media outlets swiftly worked to shape public perception, downplaying the scale of Palestinian casualties while framing the strikes as an attack on Hamas.

Instead of highlighting the devastating human toll—over 400 Palestinians killed—mainstream outlets like Axios portrayed the aggression as “airstrikes against Hamas,” turning a blind eye to the widespread destruction and mass civilian casualties.

Given the scale of Israel’s latest airstrikes, the vast majority of those killed have been women and children. Yet, as media critics have pointed out, Axios’ headline failed to reflect the brutal reality of the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

Similarly, US-based Fox News adopted a slanted narrative, blatantly justifying Israel’s bombardment of Palestinians.

According to media analysts, the network sought to frame the assault as a natural consequence of the ceasefire being over—as if that automatically legitimizes the mass killing of civilians.

Fox News also mirrored Axios’ reportage, stating that Israel struck Hamas, while disregarding the fact that majority of those killed and injured since Tuesday morning were children. .

In another misleading claim, the network alleged that the strikes were a response to Hamas’ refusal to “release hostages."

Hamas had agreed to release captives in line with the swap deal but it was Netanyahu who refused to adhere to terms of the deal.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released over 20 Israeli captives, following the agreed-upon process.

Bloomberg also echoed the coverage of Fox News and Axios reinforcing the narrative that the airstrikes were merely targeting “Hamas targets.”

This framing, however, stood in stark contrast to the reality on the ground. The Israeli bombardment struck densely populated areas, places where civilians had sought shelter.

NBC also framed the Israeli aggression as a mere military confrontation between the two sides, wilfully ignoring the fact that the aggressor was the Tel Aviv regime, not Hamas.

Their narrative deliberately omitted crucial context in which Israel had abandoned negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire and had already violated the first phase by blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza for over ten days.

Similarly, CNN’s headline also smacked of spin doctoring, failing to highlight the most critical aspect of the situation— ceasefire negotiations and Israel’s refusal to honor its commitments.

Analysts noted that given the staggering death toll from Tuesday’s strikes and Israel’s violation of ceasefire deal, CNN’s headline should have incorporated at least one of these elements to provide readers with an accurate understanding of the crisis.

Instead, the network opted for the vague phrase “extensive strikes,” failing to acknowledge the devastating aftermath.

Reuters also followed the trend of downplaying the tragedy. The British news agency's choice of words—describing the massacre as strikes on Hamas targets—was criticized by activists for downplaying the extent of Israel’s brutality in Gaza.

CBS took a similarly biased approach, portraying the Israeli airstrikes as attacks solely targeting Hamas.

However, widely circulated footage told a different story. They showed Palestinians carrying their wounded family members to hospitals, while morgues overflowed with piles of lifeless bodies.

As the death toll continues to rise, media analysts say these media distortions are not accidental—they are part of a broader pattern in Western journalism, where language is carefully crafted to shape public perception, shielding Israel from accountability while erasing the Palestinian suffering from global discourse.

Western media, which played on the Israeli side since October 2023, is back to manufacturing consent for the Israeli genocide in Gaza by blaming the oppressed for the crimes of the oppressor.

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