Times of Israel, on Gaza, 25 October 2026

The Times of Israel reports a strike on the Islamic University in Gaza City but hedges the Palestinian dead with "reportedly" in its headline, where other coverage of the same strike states the three killings as fact. It then hands the Israeli military the last word, printing the claim that the strike "targeted terror operatives" with nothing set against it, even though the article's own sources say the dead were administrative staff and the wounded were students.

7.3

Serious

out of 10

What we found

  1. Doubts one side's dead and not the other's

    Serious

    “reportedly kills three”

    What the words do
    The word "reportedly" in the outlet's own headline casts doubt on whether the three Palestinians were killed at all.
    What a reader comes away believing
    A reader comes away unsure that anyone actually died, treating the deaths as a Palestinian claim rather than an established fact.
    What is actually the case
    Le Monde, drawing on the same AFP material, reported the three deaths as fact in its own headline, sourced to university staff and Al-Shifa Hospital, which received the three bodies.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

    “the strike targeted terror operatives”

    What the words do
    The Israeli military's claim about who was hit is printed with no caveat at all, in the same report where the Palestinian dead are marked "reportedly".
    What a reader comes away believing
    A reader takes the army's account of the target as solid information while regarding the deaths of the three named men as merely alleged.
    What is actually the case
    The article offers no independent basis for the claim, and its own sources at the university say the dead were administrative staff and the wounded were students. The hedging runs one way only.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“those killed were administrative staff and the injured were students”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    An Israeli strike on the Islamic University in Gaza City killed three Palestinians and wounded eight on Sunday, according to Al-Shifa Hospital and university staff. The Israeli military said it had targeted "terror operatives" but gave no evidence for the claim.

  2. Gives a contested claim the last word

    Serious

    “The Israeli military tells The Times of Israel that the strike targeted terror operatives, and further details would be provided later.”

    What the words do
    The report closes on the Israeli army's account of the strike, with nothing set against it and no Palestinian response after it.
    What a reader comes away believing
    A reader is left with the impression that the men killed were legitimate military targets and that the matter is settled.
    What is actually the case
    The article's own sources say the three killed were administrative staff and the wounded were students, and no evidence is given for the army's claim. Le Monde reported the army telling it only that the strike was "currently under review", and carried Gaza's education ministry condemning the attack.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    The Israeli military said the strike targeted "terror operatives" but provided no evidence; staff at the university said the three killed were administrative employees and the eight wounded were students, and Gaza's education ministry condemned the attack on a university.

  3. Leaves out what changes the picture

    Minor

    What is missing

    The article does not mention that Israeli occupation forces killed five other Palestinians across Gaza the same day and wounded another by gunfire in Jabalia, so a reader takes this strike as an isolated incident during a truce.

    How we know

    Show where it belongs

  4. One side gets the space

    Minor

    What is missing

    No Palestinian official or institutional response appears. Gaza's education ministry condemned the strike and said silence over attacks on students and universities encourages such crimes; the only authority quoted here is the Israeli military.

    How we know

    Show where it belongs

Every underline is part of a finding. Press one to see why.

IDF strike on Gaza university | The Times of Israel

Live Update From the Liveblog of

Sunday, October 25, 2026

IDF strike on Gaza university reportedly kills three

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike targeting the Islamic University in Gaza City today, according to medical officials in the Strip.

Palestinian media identifies the dead as Ashraf Dahlan, Shadi Abu Ataya, and Sami Baroud.

Shifa Hospital in Gaza City says it received three bodies and treated eight people who were wounded in the strike, and two sources at the Islamic University say those killed were administrative staff and the injured were students.

AFP contributed to this report.

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