After more than 24 hours of letting the story run freely, Qatari mouthpiece Al Jazeera deleted the page featuring their former story, which accused Israeli soldiers of allegedly perpetrating rape against women during the IDF’s latest excursion against Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists who barricaded themselves inside the former hospital-cum-terror headquarters at Shifa Hospital.
Though the Qatari mouthpiece hasn’t officially referred to the retraction, all content related to the allegation has reportedly been deleted.
Al Jazeera columnist and former director Yasser Abuhilalah also tweeted, admitting that “It was revealed through Hamas investigations that the story of the rape of women in Al-Shifa Hospital was fabricated… The woman who spoke about rape justified her exaggeration and incorrect talk by saying that the goal was to arouse the nation’s fervor and brotherhood,” adding critically that “As if more than thirty thousand martyrs, ninety thousand wounded, about a million displaced people, and comprehensive destruction were not enough!”
◾️◾️تبين من خلال تحقيقات حركة حماس إن قصة اغتصاب النساء في #مستشفى_الشفاء مختلقة، طبعا العدو لم يتورع عن جريمة إبادة . ◾️◾️بررت السيدة التي تحدثت عن الاغتصاب مبالغتها وحديثها غير الصحيح بأن الهدف أستثارة حمية الأمة ونخوتها ! وكأن أكثر من ثلاثين ألف شهيد وتسعين ألف جريح ونحو…
— ياسر أبوهلالة (@abuhilalah) March 24, 2024
Jihad Khelles, a pro-Hamas preacher from Gaza, also tweeted that it became evident that there was no proven evidence for the events and that the alleged “witness” told a story that she had heard and not witnessed, also adding that “this creates panic and fear” and “makes [Palestinians] feel despair and frustration at a time when we are most in need for stability and reassurance.”
The original story published by Al Jazeera featured a “testimony” by Jamila Al-Hessi, a Gazan woman who claimed that while she was under siege in the area of the hospital complex, she witnessed IDF soldiers “raping women then killing them and burning entire families alive.”
The fake testimony went viral, with many expressing their rage at Israel and at what they deemed Arab failure to protect the honor of Palestinian women, even asking where Hamas and the resistance had gone. However, Israeli news blogger Abu Ali Express also reported that the viral fake testimony also had unexpected reverse ripple effects, leading many Gazans to flee their homes in the northern Gaza strip southwards, which may explain the unusual event of a Hamas investigation into the details.
Al-Hessi was interviewed live on Al Jazeera, where she admitted that she was not in the Shifa Hospital and alleged that she had witnessed what happened in the complex, including women being raped, kidnapped, and killed during the incursion, describing what she had “witnessed” as “more than an action film.”
She also claimed that they had been calling for aid for six days, adding, “Who is the Red Cross? Are they Jews, our enemies?” also adding the accusation that the organization sees itself as “more than us [Gazans]” and wondering how come they have food and water, but the Gazan citizens don’t.
Al Jazeera was founded with the financial help of the Qatari royal family and has served for decades as a mouthpiece for the regime, which provides lavish asylum for the leaders of Hamas, a group designated as a terror organization by the US, Canada, the EU, Israel, and other nations.
The regime’s Arabic-speaking language outlet is known for spreading antisemitic rhetoric and Holocaust denial, as well as operating a Western-facing outlet, AJ+, which reportedly propagates divisive and inflammatory content while flouting registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for several years.