Medical Professionals at the Frontline of Hamas’s Propaganda War

In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, a concerning pattern has emerged in the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with medical professionals playing a pivotal role in what appears to be a coordinated propaganda campaign. This effort seeks to reshape the narrative of the war by attributing Hamas’s own genocidal intentions to Israel while leveraging the credibility and moral authority physicians typically command in society.

The strategy hinges on the public’s natural inclination to trust medical professionals, whose years of education and association with the Hippocratic Oath lend them significant credibility as witnesses. What makes this campaign particularly effective is how medical testimony, once disseminated, creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop through media interviews, medical journal articles, and international forums.

Among the organizations at the center of this dynamic is Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders. Despite its stated commitment to neutrality and impartiality, MSF’s response to the October 7 attacks revealed a troubling bias. The organization initially failed to denounce the Hamas massacre, and when it finally acknowledged the “brutal mass killing of civilians” five days later, it immediately pivoted to condemning Israel’s military response.

This apparent alignment with Hamas’s narrative raised enough concern that Alain Destexhe, a former Secretary-General of MSF, published an investigative report questioning the organization’s neutrality. He noted that “a significant proportion of its staff seem to share the Hamas position” and warned that information provided by MSF that repeats claims from local Palestinian employees “should therefore be no more credible than that of Hamas.”

The October 17, 2023, explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital offers a revealing case study of this phenomenon. Within hours of the blast, Hamas claimed an Israeli airstrike had targeted the hospital, killing nearly 500 civilians. Israel immediately denied involvement, with subsequent investigations by the IDF and intelligence services from the United States, France, Canada, and Britain all concluding that a misfired rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad was the likely cause.

Nevertheless, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, a Palestinian-British physician who identified himself as an MSF representative at the hospital, participated in a Hamas Health Ministry press conference where he provided “eyewitness testimony.” His account extended well beyond medical observations to direct accusations, claiming Israel had committed a war crime by deliberately targeting a hospital.

MSF International rapidly amplified this narrative through social media posts and press releases that characterized the explosion as an “Israeli bombing” and a “massacre” without waiting for evidence or investigation. Despite overwhelming evidence that contradicted this account, neither Abu Sittah nor MSF retracted their statements.

Medical journals and mainstream media outlets further legitimized these claims. The British Medical Journal published an article quoting Abu Sittah’s testimony, which was subsequently cited by multiple public health journals. His account was featured in outlets ranging from Turkish state media to ABC News, The Guardian, and BBC.

This pattern continued as MSF representatives, including former US Executive Director Avril Benoit and Secretary General Christopher Lockyear, consistently denied evidence of Hamas using hospitals for military purposes—despite substantial documentation to the contrary. When Hamas-affiliated MSF staff members were killed in Israeli strikes, the organization portrayed them solely as innocent healthcare workers, omitting their terrorist connections.

The campaign has extended to international forums, with MSF appealing to the UN Security Council, issuing statements to the International Court of Justice, and Abu Sittah providing testimony to both Scotland Yard’s War Crimes Unit and the International Criminal Court.

This systematic effort to erase Hamas’s responsibility while delegitimizing Israel demonstrates how medical authority can be weaponized in modern conflict. By creating and reinforcing a false narrative through seemingly credible medical sources, Hamas has found a powerful propaganda tool that appeals to Western audiences and international institutions.

The consequences extend beyond the current conflict, undermining truth and accountability while recruiting new adherents to a fabricated moral narrative that serves Hamas’s strategic objectives while damaging Israel’s international standing.