This article has been updated to make mention of an American hostage who was released on Sunday.
On Saturday night, the second round of those taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 were released, after a delay in the process. Those released included 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals. Those released have mostly been women and children. A now deleted post from Reuters had quite the noteworthy way of describing such people though.
"13 more Israeli soldiers"
— AG (@AGHamilton29) November 26, 2023
All of these mistakes go in one direction... pic.twitter.com/3aDyVoOzAY
According to Reuters, 4 year-old Israeli children are "soldiers" 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gi94LSWLCr
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) November 26, 2023
This is disgusting. The released hostages weren’t “soldiers.” They’re regular toddlers, teens, and moms whose crime was being Jewish. Why are you defending their kidnappings @Reuters? pic.twitter.com/Pay2Oxf9nf
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) November 26, 2023
I ain’t never seen a soldier that looks like this @Reuters pic.twitter.com/9DRF0n3DiU
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) November 26, 2023
Although the post no longer appears on the Reuters' X feed, screenshots with timestamps and archived versions mentioning "13 more Israeli soldiers" still exist. It also appears that a Community Notes was pending while the post was still up.
A post from Saturday indicates a "CORRECTION" was made, referring instead to "13 more Israeli hostages."
CORRECTION: Hamas releases 13 more Israeli hostages and four foreign nationals to the Red Cross in a second exchange. We will remove a previous post that incorrectly mentioned soldiers https://t.co/f76iQ8KmjT pic.twitter.com/MB0ZLYmec9
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 26, 2023
That current post links to more reporting on the release of hostages, "Hamas releases more Israeli, foreign hostages on second day of Gaza truce." Particularly telling is that Hamas is not referred to as the terrorist group that it is, but rather described as a "Palestinian militant group." The report also cites "Palestinian health authorities" for the death toll in Gaza. NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby has also repeatedly cautioned that any numbers provided by Hamas or "Palestinian officials" cannot be trusted.
The Reuters report also acknowledges what either the since-deleted or current post failed to do, that those hostages released "includ[e] children and the elderly."
Reuters isn't the only one that has engaged in an epic fail with how to describe the hostages. As Matt highlighted earlier, Ireland's Leo Varadkar posted that Emily Hand, 9, was among those hostages released. In a post where he's since restricted replies and which has a Community Notes message attached, he described the situation as one where "an innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned."
This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) November 25, 2023
Other than the problematic narratives from the mainstream media and leftist politicians, a glaring issue is that American hostages have not been among those released. This is despite how President Joe Biden has received credit for being part of the negotiations.
If you’re wondering what President Biden has been doing today after two rounds of hostage releases with zero Americans (including a 4-year-old) and as Hamas plays games with their lives, he was shopping in Nantucket. He also had a milkshake.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) November 25, 2023
“Hopefully we’ll see something soon” pic.twitter.com/cYtfy8ArrU
Even The New York Times has highlighted how no Americans hostages were among those released. As a Saturday headline warned, "No U.S. hostages are expected to be released in the next round, an official says."
It was revealed on Sunday afternoon, however, that a 4-year-old American hostage, Abigail Idan, was among hostages released on Sunday. "We continue to press and expect for additional Americans will be released as well," Biden said has part of his remarks on that day.
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