A recent Associated Press (AP) Gaza report is facing scrutiny for omitting critical facts about the death of 20-year-old Gazan woman Marah Abu Zuhri, who was evacuated to Italy for medical treatment. The Aug. 16 Associated Press story claimed Zuhri died of malnutrition but failed to mention she suffered from acute leukemia, a disease that can directly cause cardiac arrest by reducing red blood cell levels and triggering blood clots.
The report stated Zuhri “arrived in a ‘state of severe physical deterioration’” and later died after “entering a respiratory crisis and subsequently going into cardiac arrest.” The AP then used her death to bolster U.N. claims that “starvation and malnutrition in Gaza were at their highest levels since the Israel-Hamas war began.” Yet Israel released medical records dated Aug. 9 confirming Zuhri’s leukemia diagnosis, which an Italian media outlet also noted.
The AP also ignored Israel’s role in evacuating Zuhri at the request of Italian authorities. According to COGAT, the Israeli agency coordinating humanitarian aid, Gazans needing treatment were brought through Eilat before boarding Italian planes. The wire service only described her as “removed from the Gaza Strip as part of a humanitarian mission,” withholding Israel’s involvement.
This omission echoes other misleading coverage. A New York Times piece earlier this year highlighted a supposedly malnourished Gazan child but later admitted he suffered from cerebral palsy. The BBC has since amended its own version of Zuhri’s case, removing “malnourished” from the headline and acknowledging her leukemia.
Despite repeated calls for correction, the AP has not updated its report. As Sanchez and Monserrate said about misleading narratives: “The information we have continued gathering is unsettling.”
