Following Palestinian claims that the IDF fired at civilians who came to receive humanitarian aid in Gaza—claims that Israel strongly denied—White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the issue in a press conference held overnight (Tuesday to Wednesday). Leavitt emphasized that the U.S. administration is reviewing the reports, but also attacked media outlets that rushed to spread Hamas’s version of events: “We don’t treat Hamas claims as fact, unlike some in the media.”
No evidence found
Leavitt directly referred to BBC reports that included headlines like “Israeli tank kills 26 people” and later “21 killed.” The network eventually removed the article entirely. “They reviewed the footage and found no evidence of anything,” she said. “So we do review reports before confirming them from this podium. And I suggest that journalists who care about the truth do the same— to reduce the amount of misinformation being spread globally.”
WATCH: When asked about reports accusing Israel of killing civilians near an aid center, White House Press Secretary @karolineleavitt made it clear: “We don’t treat Hamas claims as fact, unlike some in the media.”
Maybe the @BBC should stop spreading fake news to vilify Israel. pic.twitter.com/tmUDNUC2ik
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 3, 2025
Correction: We’ve deleted the post below because it and early versions of the article didn’t meet Post fairness standards.
The background: Early versions of the article on Sunday stated that Israeli troops had killed more than 30 people near a U.S. aid site in Gaza, with the… pic.twitter.com/KseRXgJn6A
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 3, 2025
Correction by the Washington Post
Amid these developments, The Washington Post issued a rare correction to an article it published, which originally claimed—based on “health officials”—that Israeli soldiers killed over 30 people near a Gaza aid center. In the correction, the paper clarified that it was not clear whether the information came from Gaza’s Ministry of Health or was independently verified. The editors admitted that the headline implied unwarranted certainty, and the initial versions of the article did not meet the journalistic standards of the paper, especially as Israel had immediately denied the information.
We will get to the truth
Yesterday, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Effie Defrin responded to the Palestinian claims of mass casualties in Rafah: “Hamas’s numbers are exaggerated. The warning shot we fired this morning didn’t hit that many people, as far as we understand. We will get to the truth,” he said.
He added: “I’m aware of the criticism regarding the time it took to investigate the events. But credibility is critical – I will not report half-truths.”
