Israel rails against UK paper for ‘spreading Hamas propaganda’ with false starvation claims

Popular British tabloid under fire after it uses photograph of Gaza child suffering from genetic disorder to back false claims of starvation in the coastal enclave.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has accused a popular British tabloid of promoting Hamas propaganda after the outlet featured the photograph of an emaciated Gazan child on its front page, while misrepresenting his condition.

On Saturday, the Daily Mirror‘s cover was dominated by a photograph of Kareem Muammar, a three-year-old boy from the Gaza Strip who is suffering from a rare genetic condition known as Fanconi-Bickel syndrome, which impairs the functioning of key organs including his liver, kidneys, and intestines.

However, the paper made no mention of Muammar’s pre-existing condition, instead using his photograph as proof of accusations against Israel of widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip.

“Holocaust survivors call on Israel to end aid catastrophe as famine is declared…” the headline read. “STOP STARVING.”

A day later, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein castigated the Daily Mirror, noting that X had added a Community Note to the outlet’s article link, highlighting the context left out by the paper.

“Kareem Muammar, whose photo appears on Mirror’s front page, suffers from Fanconi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver, kidneys, and intestines, disrupting the absorption of essential nutrients,” the Community Note read.

“The Daily Mirror manipulation on Gaza is being backlashed by X users: a Community Note saying they concealed important context from their readers about a child from Gaza,” Marmorstein wrote on Sunday.

“Daily Mirror, stop spreading Hamas propaganda!”

Israel’s military announced that 111 pallets of humanitarian aid were airdropped into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including goods provided by Jordan, Germany, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The IDF emphasized that its Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) was working to ensure the flow of aid into Gaza.

“The IDF will continue working to improve the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the international community, while rejecting the false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza.”