The headquarters of The New York Times. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The New York Times opinion essay “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza” from October 9 blew up last weekend, as weapons and forensic ballistic experts debunked and questioned X-ray images featured in the piece claiming to be 5.56 caliber bullets inside the skulls of Gazan children.

The actual impact of a 5.56 caliber bullet was nowhere close to what these images claimed to be. But this thread on X (formerly Twitter) gathers various inputs across the platform. With no exit wounds present, skull fractures, or change in the shape of the bullets, the authenticity of these X-rays was concluded as being highly problematic.

The New York Times appears to have published completely fake news in order to falsely accuse the IDF of committing war crimes and shooting children “at point blank range” which Gazan and foreign medics testify they witnessed.

The only problem with this is the “evidence”… pic.twitter.com/Dsi9YR5TBa

— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 12, 2024

This suggests, in short, that the Times did not verify the information in the piece adequately before it was published — thereby allowing lies to be platformed to the public. Here are two extensive examinations of the X-ray images.

As a former Law Enforcement Officer, Ret. Special Forces Soldier (Green Beret) and Sniper, I feel confident in saying I know the effects of 5.56 NATO (M855).

Conclusion:
The NYT lied or failed to verify the information presented to them. This is based on the MV and BC of the… pic.twitter.com/0gusGVtwHg

— Matt Tardio (@angertab) October 12, 2024

And in more depth, the forensic medical evidence is provided here:

Hello @afalkhatib

I saw your post after seeing the reply from @COLRICHARDKEMP and @AntSpeaks, and then I read the article, twice. As someone who is actually a forensic ballistics specialist, I wanted to respond to your post, and this article, with some facts that will… https://t.co/NLhX9ILcCn

— Cheryl E 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🎗️ (@CherylWroteIt) October 12, 2024

As HonestReporting previously stated in its critique of the piece on Friday, these testimonies are not proof that these casualties are a result of IDF fire. Indeed, Hamas is also known to shoot their own people.

Nothing here is proof of war crimes by the @IDF. This x-ray, which looks suspicious anyway, certainly doesn’t prove it. Who is to say the head shots were not Hamas fire, either deliberately or unintentionally aimed at their own children? Hamas do use 5.56 as well as other… https://t.co/JgJrXw5nXn

— Rɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ Kᴇᴍᴘ ⋁ (@COLRICHARDKEMP) October 11, 2024

But it’s the response of the article’s author, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, that really destroys this piece’s legitimacy.

The author of the NYT piece weighs in, and it’s exactly what you’d expect pic.twitter.com/BFe4qK9cro

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 13, 2024

To deny that Hamas uses civilians as human shields and claim Israel does — and denying that “maximizing civilian deaths” is in Hamas’ interests — is not only delusional, it is an intentional, blatant lie.

There are countries, journalists, and international bodies, the UN included, which have confirmed the use of human shields. And Hamas leaders, like Yahya Sinwar, have even been outspoken on the role innocent civilians play in their strategy to defeat Israel.

PAMA’s Roots

But more than that, the organization that sent these doctors into Gaza as volunteers, the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA), has a history entangled with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US organization that has been linked to terrorist groups.

I will question the motives of any organization that routinely collaborates with CAIR (the US-based Hamas front group) and hosts antisemite extraordinaire Linda Sarsour pic.twitter.com/jdcIQgWRAn

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 12, 2024

It appears that PAMA is no stranger to outright disinformation, and the proof is in the pudding for this New York Times piece as well.

Proof the piece was authored by a PAMA volunteer, as was the person who supplied the images, Dr. Mimi Syed.

It’s a shame because I’m sure PAMA has done important work in Gaza with those tragically impacted by the war. But there’s no excuse for joining the disinformation campaign pic.twitter.com/ctCzz3vEoN

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 12, 2024

Lesson for The New York Times? Consider your sources. No mission that seems righteous should come at the expense of your publication’s integrity. Just because a claim fits your ideological worldview on Israel, it doesn’t remove the obligation to fact-check and do journalistic due diligence.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.