Many of the casualties in the chaos that erupted in Gaza at a food distribution site were killed as a result of aid trucks ramming people as people tried to escape Israeli fire, according to a local journalist in Gaza, Khadeer Al Za’anoun.

Al Za’anoun, who was at the scene and witnessed the incident, told CNN that, though there were large crowds waiting for food to be distributed from aid trucks, the chaos and confusion that led to trampling only started once Israeli soldiers opened fire.

“Most of the people that were killed were rammed by the aid trucks during the chaos and while trying to escape the Israeli gunfire,” he said.

He said that around 20 were killed directly by the gunfire, and the rest were killed under the aid trucks’ wheels.

CNN says 20 people were shot, triggering a stampede that killed a lot more. Where did this site get “thousands”?

Article is being reported for the headline reading “guns down thousands” while the actual death toll is far, far less than that.

Here’s the thing…

Israel ABSOLUTELY opened fire on a crowd of thousands of innocent civilians with ZERO regard for their health or safety. The fact that thousands weren’t killed and that it was merely hundreds IS NOT BETTER.

I’m not going to get into a debate over headline semantics.

The story is confirmed, the number of casualties is fluctuating, and Israel needs to be ashamed of this event.

cbsnews.com/…/israel-gaza-hamas-war-humanitarian-…

“at least 104 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.”

www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/…/ar-BB1j71h5

“killing at least 104 people and wounding over 700”

www.cnn.com/2024/02/29/middleeast/…/index.html

“104 were killed and more than 700 injured”

When the headline is distorted, and a practical lie, it does a disservice to your message. And in fact makes other sources less credible overall in the media landscape.

This applies to this current genocide, as well as any other media event. People are not dumb, when they see the headline and open the article, they will internalize the distortion. And then when they see future headlines they will interpret it through that lens.