The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories revealed Thursday, through its English-language X platform to the international community, yet another instance of Hamas manipulating photographs of children with genetic illnesses to promote its "starvation" narrative while targeting Israel with false accusations.
Recent days have witnessed widespread circulation of images featuring 14-year-old Abdul Qader Al-Fayoumi across social media platforms through Hamas-affiliated channels, with claims that Abdul's medical condition resulted from Gaza starvation. Security establishment investigations have determined that Abdul received medical treatment in Israel during 2018 for a genetic nervous system disorder.
Once again, Hamas is using photos of sick children to push the "starvation" narrative and blame Israel.
But the truth tells a different story.#TheFacts: 14-year-old Abdul Qader al-Fayoumi was treated in Israel back in 2018 for a genetic disease.Abdul was one of the hundreds… pic.twitter.com/4CcB2Md1ao
— COGAT (@cogatonline) July 31, 2025
Abdul represented one among hundreds of Gaza children with comparable medical conditions who obtained treatment in Israeli medical facilities before Hamas destroyed the Erez crossing during the October 7 attacks. Despite these challenges, Israel maintains coordination of medical evacuations for Gaza residents to third-party nations via the Kerem Shalom crossing. Yesterday alone witnessed the transfer of 180 patients and their accompanying family members for ongoing medical care in European Union member states and Jordan.
COGAT's statement declared, "Hamas, meanwhile, keeps cynically exploiting them for its own twisted agenda, and part of the international media buys it."
The New York Times issued a correction Tuesday regarding an article published under the title "Young, Old and Sick Starving to Death" last Thursday concerning Gaza Strip humanitarian conditions, which displayed photographs of a severely underweight 18-month-old infant held by his mother. The correction acknowledged that following the article's publication, the newspaper discovered through the child's physician that he experiences underlying medical complications.
