News organisations have struggled to report accurately on the Israel-Gaza war. The conflict presents many challenges. International reporters are not allowed to report from the ground. Local journalists are being killed in record numbers by Israel’s military campaign. Misinformation is constantly posted on social media by public officials and partisan sources, and filtering through public discourse. 

Amid this difficult environment, some reputable news outlets have made a few serious mistakes. The most prominent one was the explosion at the car park of Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City on 18 October. 

Many global news organisations initially published Hamas-led health ministry’s version that the blast had been caused by an Israeli strike. As new images of the site challenged this version, it became impossible to be certain about the cause of the explosion. 

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