Certain Western media outlets have omitted statements made by the Israeli Woman, Yocheved Lifshitz, who was released by Hamas on Monday, October 23, 2023. She stated, “We received good treatment and were provided with necessary medical care.” During a press conference on October 24, Lifshitz added, “The elements who detained me along with other prisoners assured to us that we would not be harmed, and they provided us with food and water.” She further explained, “They told us that they believe in the Holy Quran, and they will not harm us; they treated us the same way they treated those around them.”
In response to a question about why Lifshitz shook hands with the fighters who accompanied her during her release, she explained, “I did so because they treated us well and took care of all our needs.” She emphasized, “They were very kind and made sure that we had enough to eat.”
Regarding her kidnapping from a Kibbutz and captivity in the Gaza Strip, Lifshitz described, “I went through hell, I did not think I would survive, and I never thought we would make it here.” However, she later reaffirmed that they were treated well during their time in Gaza.
CNN Did Not Publish the Israeli Captive's Statements Regarding Hamas's Treatment of Captives
While Lifshitz’s statements about being well-treated by Hamas were widely circulated, some Western media outlets selectively covered her statements.
The CNN, in an article published on October 24, titled "Released Israeli Hostage Says: I Went Through Hell," focusing on Lifshitz's narrative about her capture on October 7 during the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and how she was transported on a motorbike to the Gaza Strip. It is important to note that CNN chose to ignore her comments about receiving good treatment and medical care.
CNN quoted Yocheved Lifshitz as saying about the care during her captivity, “There was medical care to some extent,” and left it at that.
The BBC Focused on the Captive’s Statement “I Went Through Hell”
Although the BBC mentioned in its article that Lifshitz stated they received good treatment by Hamas, it initially emphasized on its official X account of how she was captured and conveyed to the Gaza Strip.
The BBC’s article quoted Yocheved Lifshitz, an 85-year-old peace activist, who was released by Hamas on Monday after two weeks in captivity, as saying. “I went through hell.” Lifshitz explained that she and her husband were kidnapped by Hamas fighters on motorbikes and taken to a “spider’s web” of tunnels underneath Gaza. She described being hit by sticks on the journey, but she also mentioned that most of hostages received “good treatment.”
Similarly, NBC also used the same selective headline on its X platform. The article was entitled “85-year-old Israeli hostage Yocheved Lifshitz says Hamas captors beat her in the ribs with sticks as she was kidnapped.” They added to the title another statement said by Lifshitz from a hospital in Tel Aviv, “I went through hell.”
Although NBC referred in its article to the good treatment that Lifshitz and those with her received, it also focused in its headline on the moment of her capture, not on the way Hamas dealt with the captives.
Reuters News Agency, The New York Times, among other media outlets, also used the same headline during their news coverage.
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