News/Commentary

White House shoots down WaPo report of Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal

November 19, 2023 | | Print Article

The Washington Post claimed on Saturday that the U.S. has brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to hit pause on the fighting for five days to “free women and children hostages,” but according to the National Security Council, WaPo’s headline is fake news.

“We have not reached a deal yet,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson wrote on X, “but we continue to work hard to get to a deal.”


It is unclear whether the Post edited its headline and lede after Watson’s fact-check, but, as of Sunday morning, when you click on the actual story, it tells a different tale.

On WaPo’s website, the headline reads “U.S. close to deal with Israel and Hamas to pause conflict, free some hostages,” and the first sentence repeats that the brokered deal has not yet been finalized: “Israel and Hamas are close to agreement on a U.S.-brokered deal that would free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting, say people familiar with the emerging terms.”

So, either the Post quietly updated its report, or it intentionally misled readers with its post on X.

As BizPac Review reported, President Biden spoke last week with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and “condemned unequivocally” Hamas for its continued holding of American hostages, including a three-year-old toddler whose parents were murdered by Hamas on the first day, October 7th, of the group’s savage attack on Israel.

And, on the same day the Post declared on X that a deal had been reached, it also ran an op-ed ostensibly written by President Biden in which he stated that “for over a month, the families of more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas, including babies and Americans, have been living in hell, anxiously waiting to discover whether their loved ones are alive or dead.”

“At the time of this writing,” according to the president, “my team and I are working hour by hour, doing everything we can to get the hostages released.”

In a lengthy Saturday thread on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the global pressure for a ceasefire and the hostages.

“[E]ven within the US and around the world, increasingly heavy pressure has been used against us in recent weeks. They pressured us to agree to a full ceasefire – we refused: We will only agree to a temporary ceasefire and only in exchange for the return of our hostages,” he stated.

“Together with my colleagues,” Netanyahu continued, “I reject these pressures and say to the world: We will continue to fight until victory – until we destroy Hamas and bring our hostages back home.”

In an earlier press conference, the prime minister cautioned of “unsubstantiated rumors” surrounding the hostages.

“Concerning the hostages, there are many unsubstantiated rumors, many incorrect reports. I would like to make it clear: As of now, there has been no deal,” he said, according to the Washington Examiner. “But I want to promise: When there is something to say – we will report to you about it.”

DONATE TO AMERICAN WIRE

If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to American Wire News to help us fight them.

$10
$15
$25
$50
Other
$
Thank you for your donation!
Melissa Fine
Latest posts by Melissa Fine (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles