The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that it killed three Hamas Nukhba Force terrorists in airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Oct. 22 and 23, including one who participated in the abduction of Israeli civilians during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre . Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, killed in southern Gaza on Thursday, took part in the abduction of several Israelis, including Alexander Dancyg from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and later helped hold hostages, including Nimrod Cohen, according to the IDF.
Two other terrorists, Nukhba platoon commander Omar Awadallah and Moataz Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Nimr, were killed in northern Gaza on Friday. Israeli army Merkava main battle tanks move at a position in southern Israel along the border fence with the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. AFP via Getty Images An undated Israel Defense Forces graphic shows Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, a Hamas operative who took part in the kidnapping of several Israeli civilians during the October 7 massacre, including Alexander Dancyg from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
IDF צה"ל חיסל שלושה מחבלי נוח'בה מארגון הטרור חמאס: אחד המחבלים פשט לקיבוץ ניר עוז ולקח חלק בחטיפת אזרחים ישראלים בטבח 7 באוקטובר צה"ל תקף בשבוע שעבר בדרום רצועת עזה, וחיסל את אחמד מחמד אחמד ברכה, מחבל נוח'בה בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס. המחבל לקח חלק בחטיפתם של מספר אזרחים… pic.twitter.com/jzG0WGh0xy — צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 28, 2026 The military said the three had been planning attacks against Israeli troops and civilians and working to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities in violation of the ceasefire.
It said the strikes were carried out using precision munitions and aerial surveillance to minimize civilian harm.
The New York Post, running a Jewish News Syndicate report, calls three Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes "terrorists" in its own voice in the headline and the body. Its only source is the Israeli military's statement, and the headline drops the attribution that the body gives. The army's account fills the article, including its closing claim about minimising civilian harm, and no Palestinian voice or check appears anywhere.
Labels people on one side's word
Severe
“IDF kills three Hamas terrorists”
Why this matters
The headline calls the three men killed "Hamas terrorists" in the Post's own voice, with no attribution.
The impression it gives
A reader takes it as established fact that the three dead men were terrorists.
The context
The only basis for the label anywhere in the article is the Israeli military's own statement. The body opens by attributing it to the army, and nothing independent is offered. Ynet, reporting the same strikes, writes that one man was "accused".
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that it killed three Hamas Nukhba Force terrorists”
In the body, the Post again labels the two men killed in northern Gaza "terrorists" in its own voice. This sentence carries no attribution to the army at all.
The impression it gives
A reader believes the two named men killed on Friday were terrorists as a matter of fact. The sentence gives no hint that this is one party's claim.
The context
The sentence before it attributes the account of Baraka to the IOF. The claims about Awadallah and Al-Nimr come from the same military statement, and nothing in the article tests them.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“later helped hold hostages, including Nimrod Cohen, according to the IDF”
Israeli forces killed three Palestinian men in airstrikes in Gaza; the Israeli military says they were members of Hamas's Nukhba force and that one took part in abductions on 7 October 2023, a claim it gave no independent evidence for.
States one side's claim as fact
Serious
“a Hamas operative who took part in the kidnapping of several Israeli civilians during the October 7 massacre”
Why this matters
The photo caption describes Baraka as a man who took part in the kidnapping, in the Post's own voice.
The impression it gives
A reader looking at the image takes the army's allegation as proven.
The context
The body says this account comes from the IOF, and nothing in the article confirms it independently.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“and later helped hold hostages, including Nimrod Cohen, according to the IDF”
An undated Israeli military graphic shows Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, whom the army says took part in the 7 October kidnappings.
Gives a contested claim the last word
Minor
“It said the strikes were carried out using precision munitions and aerial surveillance to minimize civilian harm.”
Why this matters
The article ends on the army's assurance that it minimised civilian harm. Nothing is set against it, and nothing says whether anyone else was killed or hurt.
The impression it gives
A reader leaves believing the strikes were clean and harmed no one but their targets.
The context
The Post gives no Gaza source on the strikes. The same week's coverage reports Palestinians killed and wounded by Israeli fire and airstrikes in Gaza despite the ceasefire.
“The military said the three had been planning attacks against Israeli troops and civilians and working to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities in violation of the ceasefire.”
Why this matters
Every claim in the article, from the men's identities to their alleged plans and the ceasefire breach, comes from the Israeli army or its tweet.
The impression it gives
A reader hears only the account of the force that carried out the killings.
The context
The article never calls the dead Palestinians. It gives no Palestinian source, such as Gaza's civil defence, a family member or local medics, while other outlets that week did quote Gaza's civil defence.