NOT ANTI-WAR, JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE: The Press Reactions to Israel Rescuing the Hostages Will Make Your Blood Boil.

There are three things certain in life: Death, taxes, and the mainstream press being the worst people on earth. The sheer ability of the journalistic class to take any issue and come down on the wrong side of it is legendary. That dynamic didn’t change after Israel rescued four hostages on Saturday morning.

As RedState reported, a joint operation between the IDF, ISA, and police forces entered the city of Nuseirat, a supposed “refugee camp,” after discovering their location. The hostages were being held in “civilian” homes, with Hamas fighters responding to an all-call to attack the area after the rescue attempt was discovered. That led to a tense firefight in the streets, with a helicopter eventually providing evac from the nearby beach.

Now, you’d think the press would be very interested to know why hostages were being held in “civilian” homes in the middle of a “refugee camp.” That would seem the most prudent question when discussing casualties as a result of the rescue operation. Instead, they simply went to bat for Hamas.

Here’s a primer from The Washington Post before we get to one of the more unbelievable examples.

Everything about that headline is carefully crafted to mislead. For one, the claim that “more than 200 Palestinians killed” is completely unverified. Those numbers come directly from the Hamas-controlled “Gaza Ministry of Health.” Also absent in them is any admission of how many of the dead were combatants, either because they were members of Hamas or chose to fire on the Israeli forces.

If only the Post had warned us about unverified casualty numbers from the “Gaza Ministry of Health.” Or as the kids say these days, life comes at you fast: Women and children of Gaza are killed less frequently as war’s toll rises, AP data analysis finds.

—AP article appearing in the Washington Post, on Friday.

(Yes, the one and the same AP: Israel Shared Intelligence to Us Showing Hamas Operated Inside Building Where AP, Al-Jazeera Had Offices.)

UPDATE: The Biggest Media Scandal of the Era Has Arrived. “In a normal media ecosystem, there would be extensive internal reviews at the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC and others, concluding with a clear plan for reforming the newsgathering process at these places and holding accountable those responsible for setting the world aflame with obvious lies. I won’t hold my breath. But the AP report, while late, is the first sign of a waking conscience among the press. May there be others.”