A widely circulated image of an emaciated Palestinian child has been used to falsely accuse Israel of starving children in Gaza, charged the Defense Ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories on Monday, as Israel continued to combat accusations of having deliberately starved the population of the Gaza Strip.

According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the subject of the viral photo, 5-year-old Osama al-Rakab, suffers from a serious genetic illness that is unrelated to the ongoing war, and is currently undergoing treatment abroad.

On June 12, Israeli authorities coordinated his exit from Gaza via the Ramon airport, along with his mother and brother, and he is receiving medical treatment in Italy, COGAT said.

“Tragic images rightfully stir strong emotions, but when they’re misused to fuel hatred and lies, they do more harm than good,” read a statement on COGAT’s English-language X account. “Don’t let compassion be exploited for propaganda. Check the facts before parroting blame.”

The statement did not address broader reports of widespread food scarcity and malnutrition in Gaza, and instead focused on correcting what it said was a specific misuse of a personal tragedy for misinformation.

In a similar instance, freelance investigative journalist David Collier presented what he said was evidence to debunk another viral image intended to depict famine in the Gaza Strip.

The image, which was widely shared by international media outlets in recent days, shows Hidaya Yassin al-Mutawaq holding the skeletal body of her son, Mohammed al-Mutawaq.

According to Collier, the outrage sparked by this image was unprovoked, as Mohammed has serious genetic disorders and has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Furthermore, he asserted, the widely shared image is cropped in a way that removes Mohammed’s younger, healthier-looking brother from the frame.

By withholding pertinent information about the young child’s complex medical needs, Collier claimed, media outlets were “deliberately pushing a deceptive narrative that only serves to benefit Hamas and create fake news.”

Collier himself acknowledged that Mohammed “has needed specialist medical supplements since birth,” indicating that he is also likely further........

© The Times of Israel