Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un62civilians123008.html
UNITED NATIONS, December 30 -- A number of civilians killed in Gaza, 62, that the UN put out on Monday and then later qualified has nevertheless gone all over the world without the qualification attached, thus understating the deaths of non-combatants. UN Humanitarian Coorindator John Holmes on Monday told the Press that "on the Palestinian side, there's something like 320 dead... sixty two of those killed we believe are civilian casualties." Video here, from Minute 7:50. Holmes went on, "that simply encompasses those who are women and children."
Inner City Press asked Holmes, who made the decision to use a methodology which excluded all men? Holmes replied that it is not a methodology, and emphasized that the number is only for women and children. Video here, from Minute 48:34.
But the phrase "62 of those killed we believe are civilian casualties," which Holmes himself read out from a prepared statement, went out on wire services, leavened by what credibility the UN has.
Associated Press reported that "the UN said at least 62 of the dead were civilians." The same phrase then showed up in an article in the Washington Times bylined by Richard Gross, "At least 62 of the dead were civilians, the U.N. said."
Reuters followed in what they called a "Fact Box" that "the Israeli strikes have killed at least 335 Palestinians, including at least 62 civilians."
The Wall Street Journal dropped the phrase "at least" and reported on "casualties, which United Nations estimated Monday at 320 dead, including 62 civilians." From there it continued, from Sky News to Radio Netherlands, from India to Turkey and beyond.
So who is responsible? And what will be done to correct this?
While the UN might like to blame sloppy reporting, Holmes used the phrase "sixty two of those killed we believe are civilian casualties." Tuesday, after the UN postponed and then cancelled a scheduled press conference by its Middle East envoy Robert Serry, Inner City Press asked for another briefing by Holmes and Karen AbuZayd of UNRWA, on topics specifically including the numbers and how the decisions were made.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un62civilians123008.html
