In response to communication from CAMERA’s Israel office, Reuters has pulled an article today in both English and Arabic which referred to 200 verified armed Hamas combatants holed up in Rafah tunnels as “civilians.”

Despite the fact that Hamas openly acknowledges that some 200 armed combatants holed up in tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip are its fighters, Reuters’ headline out of Istanbul earlier today had alleged: “Turkey seeks safe passage for 200 civilians trapped in Gaza tunnels, official says.”

The article’s first sentence repeated the mischaracterization of the armed Hamas combatants as civilians: “Turkey is working to ensure the safe passage of some 200 civilians trapped in tunnels in Gaza . . . “

Notably, the very next paragraph contradicted the “civilian” claim, rightly noting that even Hamas acknowledges that the trapped so-called “civilians” are Hamas fighters: “Palestinian militant group Hamas earlier said that fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area will not surrender to Israel . . .”

Elsewhere, Reuters correctly reported in detail that those trapped in the tunnels are Hamas fighters. A Nov. 9 article, for instance, accurately reported (“Hamas says fighters holed up in Rafah will not surrender“):

Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza will not surrender to Israel, the group’s armed wing said on Sunday, urging mediators to find a solution to a crisis that threatens the month-old ceasefire.

Sources close to mediation efforts told Reuters on Thursday that fighters could surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal aimed at resolving the stalemate. . . .

Sunday’s statement from Al-Qassam Brigades held Israel responsible for engaging the fighters, who it said were defending themselves.

“The enemy must know that the concept of surrender and handing oneself over does not exist in the dictionary of the Al-Qassam Brigades,” the group said. [Emphases added.]

Following communication from CAMERA’s Israel office, Reuters editors commendably withdrew the story and says the piece will later be replaced with another. As of this writing (8:30 am ET), readers who visit the page will find a headline stating: “Story headlined ‘Turkey seeks safe passage for 200 civilians trapped in Gaza tunnels, official says’ is withdrawn after post-publication review.”

The accompanying text states:

The Nov. 10 story headlined “Turkey seeks safe passage for 200 civilians trapped in Gaza tunnels, official says” is withdrawn after post-publication review. A replacement story will be issued later.

Reuters likewise pulled the Arabic article. In addition, the story was removed from U.S. News & World Report and from Al Arabiya.

Stay tuned for additional updates.

When Hamas acknowledges that 200 armed combatants hiding in Rafah tunnels are its fighters, but @Reuters calls them “civilians” . . . @jonathanspicer @deepababington @ReutersFacts https://t.co/pog01aMdAL (1/2) pic.twitter.com/WebUFT4Avb

— Tamar Sternthal (@TamarSternthal) November 10, 2025

Nov. 11 Update: Jerusalem Post Corrects After Citing 200 ‘Civilians’

CAMERA’s Israel office today prompted correction at The Jerusalem Post which also wrongly cited 200 “civilians.” In many places, including in the headline, the Nov. 10 article (with a Reuters byline) rightly reported that the 200 armed combatants are verified Hamas fighters. For instance, the first paragraph accurately reported: “Hamas terrorists holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza will not surrender to Israel, the group’s armed wing said on Sunday . . .” (“Hamas says terrorists holed up in Gaza will not surrender“).

Yet, two paragraphs later, the article erred, calling this same group of terrorists “civilians”: “Turkey is working to ensure the safe passage of some 200 civilians trapped in tunnels in Gaza, after having facilitated the return of a deceased Israeli soldier killed there more than a decade ago, a senior Turkish official said.” (Emphasis added.)

Though the Turkish official did wrongly refer to hundreds of Hamas terrorists as “civilians,” The Jerusalem Post did not make clear that this is a gross mischaracterization. Nor did the article even qualify the word civilians in scare quotes. (A screenshot of the original text, before the corrections were applied, appears at left.)

Further down, the article quotes without challenge or clarification the Turkish official’s false statement:

“At the same time, we are working to ensure the safe passage of some 200 Gazan civilians currently trapped in the tunnels,” the official told Reuters.

Following CAMERA’s communication with The Jerusalem Post, editors commendably amended the article, placing the first aforementioned reference to “civilians” into scare quotes. In addition, the media outlet added the following clarifying information to the article immediately following the Turkish official’s quote about “200 Gazan civilians”:

Notably, the “civilians [sic] in question in the Turkish officials’ statements refer to the same Hamas terrorists stuck on the other side of the yellow line that mediators are working to exonerate.