Within minutes of that, this was the headline and subhed atop the New York Times: “ISRAEL STRIKE KILLS HUNDREDS AT HOSPITAL, PALESTINIANS SAY. At least 500 dead; Israel urges caution as it investigates.”

Please note it did not read “Missile Strike Kills Hundreds at Hospital; Investigation Ongoing.” The formulation of the headline sentence was designed to make Israel the motive actor, even if the final clause acknowledges it as a Palestinian claim. …

The point here is that the media in the United States and elsewhere are desperate—desperate—to blame things on Israel and credulous about doing so in a way that should be shameful to any sense of professionalism—or simple morality—they might possess.

[The point here is that the Fourth Estate looks more like the Fifth Column every day. — Ed]