This afternoon we have answers from Taghreed El-Khodary, our correspondent in Gaza, to some of the many questions submitted by readers for our Q&A. Ms. El-Khodary, who was born in Gaza, has reported for The New York Times since 2001. During the recent conflict, Ms. El-Khodary was one of the few people reporting from inside Gaza, in part due to the fact that the Israeli military refused to give Western reporters access to the Palestinian territory during the fighting.
Ms. El-Khodary’s answers are below. (Given the constraints on her time, we are not taking any more questions.) We also have, after her answers, a reply to one question asking about how her work is edited from Ian Fisher, a former foreign correspondent who is now the deputy foreign editor of The New York Times.
Update: At the end of this post we have now added a reply from Ms. El-Khodary to some comments posted by readers based on her answer to one question in particular. A number of readers asked why Ms. El-Khodary had not, in this forum, directly addressed the question of whether or not Hamas fighters were firing from civilian areas. Ms. El-Khodary’s reply to that question is below.
Q. Ms. El-Khodary, let me first thank you for your in-depth, balanced coverage of what must be a terribly painful event. My question is: What do ordinary Gazans want from their leadership now ? Do they want to continue the fighting, and if so, why? Do ordinary Gazans support Hamas’ decision to fire rockets into Israel ? Is this seen as a defensive action ? — Beth Katz
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
From talking to many people, I can say that Palestinians in Gaza are against the continuation of fighting. They are relieved it is over. Hamas has sensed that; therefore, Hamas political leaders have decided to abide by the truce.
From talking to Hamas senior leaders, one can sense their interest in the truce not only because of the public pressure but also because they need to succeed in governance.
Regarding the firing of the rockets, there is split of opinion. Those supporting Hamas view the Qassam rockets as a method to put pressure on Israel to ease their lives. One woman said, ” It’s symbolic. With firing the Qassam rockets, we want the world to notice our issue of occupation,” One Qassam brigade member said, “The goal is to try to create a balance in fear.” On the other hand, there is a stronger voice that is against the rockets. Their logic is: why invite an Israeli retaliation? It will be interesting to see if that voice will become louder in the coming stage. It’s too early to come out with a conclusion regarding Hamas’s popularity. Definitely there are those who are disappointed at Hamas for driving them into this stage, but we can’t ignore those who are blaming Israel.
Q. Do you have encounters with actual Hamas fighters? What are these interactions like? To what extent do Hamas fighters try to blend in with civilians/use “human shields”? — Matthew
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
During the war I did two articles on the fighters. I’m very interested in meeting them for they are considered a crucial element for the story. When interviewing fighters, there is that fear in your head that you can be bombed because they are wanted by Israel. You have to be careful. You make sure that the place is safe and they have no mobile. The challenge is in keeping the focus and in asking the right questions. You want to be quick. Their tactic this time was different from the second Intifada. Their goal was firing the rockets and escape. Unlike previous times, they didn’t act as suicidal. Survival was a goal as firing the rocket.
(Editor: Ms. El-Khodary replied at greater length to part of this question below, at the end of this Q&A.)
Q. Ms. El-Khodary, Do you think there are elements within Hamas that could accept the “two state solution”? — Ling Po
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
Hamas has said it would agree to a two state solution based on a long term truce, 50 years or more. So, it’s temporary. In Hamas’s charter, their goal as an Islamic resistance movement is to liberate what they refer to as “Historic Palestine,” meaning they don’t recognize Israel and they will always seek to liberate the territory lost in the 1948 war. But a founder of Hamas told me: “Hamas’s charter isn’t written by a prophet.” What he meant — though many critics doubt it — the charter can change.
Q. Are the UN sites in Gaza that are distributing food and other aid operated exclusively by UN employees or has Hamas been managing or making the deliveries and do the recipients understand that it is not Hamas that is responsible for the charity but the UN. How much of the assistance is going to the civilian population as opposed to the military wing of Hamas. — George Weiss
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
The UN has complete control over its compounds and over the distribution of food and medical supplies that are going only to the refugees.
Q. It has been reported that there is a split within Hamas between those in Gaza and Hamas’ leadership in Syria. Does the split exist? Is it significant? If so, how does it affect the prospects for a lasting cease fire? — Buzz Singer
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
There has been internal disagreement on several issues. But in the end Hamas has maintained its discipline, unlike Fatah. But one can tell Hamas in Gaza has created realities on the ground for Hamas outside and in the West Bank to deal with. There is consensus among all on reaching a ceasefire deal with Israel. Hamas has been pushing Israel to accept its conditions: end the tight border control on goods and people in Gaza.
Q. How are the parents coping with the death and destruction all around them? Have you talked to any of them? How are the children reacting to the daily bombardment and scenes of carnage and death? I want to get a picture of how families living in Gaza are coping with the current situation. — Murtaza
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
I’ve been interviewing many families that are living in various districts. Each has a story to tell. There are those who lost loved ones. There are those who lost part of their bodies and there are thousands whose homes were completely or partially destroyed. When listening to parents, one can sense the state of shock they are going through. They feel unable to protect their kids and find it hard to explain the reality to them. But kids are listening to all around them. Children are afraid. Some are able to express their fear by drawing; others aren’t. A six-year-old kid told me, “I’m afraid to go to the bathroom. I’m afraid Israeli planes will bomb.”
I spent several nights with several families and I noticed how children are glued to either their dad or mom for 24 hours. Families find it hard to cope but slowly they are resuming their life. After the war many that fled to their relatives’ places or UN schools for shelters, couldn’t wait to get back to their homes. A mother living in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, kept telling her relatives she can’t wait to get back to her home to water her lemon trees and enjoy her bed. Yesterday she went back but was devastated one seeing her home destroyed and her lemon trees that she watered for six years burned or bulldozed.
Q. What is Hamas’s approach to you, a Gazan reporter for a thoroughly Western news organization? — Mila
Q. Ms. El-Khodary is reporting on the civilian suffering in Gaza at great risk to safety. Her reporting is bringing rarely seen images and voices to the American audience that is accustomed to hearing only one side of the story. How do the people she interviews react to her presence as a reporter for an American paper? — Ghita Schwarz
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
There are very few objective reporters, and I happen to be one. I’ve been covering Gaza since the Oslo peace process. I’m known to all the political factions here. Surprisingly, they like my daring questions. The leaders don’t mind The Times but many people are disappointed at the world for failing to protect them.
During this war, several people strongly condemned U.S.-made weapons that were used by Israel. A woman who said that her house was destroyed by Israel didn’t appreciate that I work for an American paper. Another whose grandmother was pulled out after the war was over tried to force her family not to talk to me.
People here believe that the U.S. is supporting Israel no matter what. It’s a challenge but the key here is to let them express their feelings and anger. Surprisingly at the end you end up sitting with them. The key is listening and looking in the eyes. People who are traumatized need recognition and attention. After all you as a reporter aren’t the story, and their anger is a crucial element to the story.
Q. Is it difficult for you, as an (apparently) Arab news correspondent who was born in Gaza, to be impartial when reporting on the battle between Gazans and Israel? — Ory Sandel
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
I was born in Gaza but was lucky to get education, to work and live abroad. I’ve been always exposed to different colors, voices, cultures. All sides talk to me. Objectivity and being able to understand all the elements to the story is empowering. Sadly, for the first time, I’m not able because I’m a Palestinian to leave Gaza whenever I wish. I hope to be able to get the Israeli permit so I can go to Jerusalem. Exposure to all elements of the story is essential.
Q. We frequently read that “some civilians were killed during fighting in Gaza.” What criteria do you rely on for the use of the word “civilian” in your reporting of this conflict? — Richard Vaughan
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
Many civilians were killed during this war. I spent many days at the hospitals and I saw many children and women and the old. I interviewed many wounded children and women. The most shocking story is the Samouni family that lost 29 family members, and we reported it. I interviewed the family when they brought several bodies to the hospital. I interviewed the injured and asked how were they injured.
Later during the war 6 people in the family were rescued by the Red Cross. Ahmed Samouni, 16, described what happened. He and other family members are still getting medical treatment at Shifa hospital. The children are traumatized. Yesterday after the war was over, family members went to pull out the 22 bodies. The smell was too strong.
Q. How does the press identify innocent Gaza civilians from Hamas activists … the Hamas activists from Hamas militants… finally: the Hamas militants from innocent civilians ? — Moshe Israel
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
Those in the military wing are known. Hamas and their family won’t hide. Once you get the name, it’s not hard.
Q. Have you seen evidence of the use of white phosphorous rounds or similar? Or of a weapon called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME)? Was there use of any cluster munitions? — Bill Goedecke
Q. U.N. officials, Human Rights Watch and Norwegian doctors in Gaza have said that Israel is using phosphorus and DIME in its Gaza attacks, and the devastating impact on civilian populations. Why is this issue not adequately covered by New York Times? Thanks — BP
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
I could find evidence of the use of white phosphorus bombs but not DIME. As a result, we wrote about the use of the phosphorus. Israel used white phosphorus in densely populated areas. Regarding DIME, Red Cross doctors spoke about the amputations the weapons caused — cutting bodies in half. But I couldn’t find evidence proving that Israel used DIME, so I couldn’t report on it.
Q. What do people in Gaza expect from the Obama administration? How did they react to the statements on the current crisis from the president elect and from the new secretary of state? Thank you for doing this. — Sandro
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
Before the war, many were hopeful and optimistic. During and after the war, people have lost the hope and feel disappointed. When asked why, they explained that his reaction came late and that he’s not showed any difference from the Bush administration.
Q. Do you have a sense of the average Gazan’s opinion of Fatah and Mr. Mahmoud Abbas and whether that opinion has changed because of this recent conflict? Also, I understand support, at least publicly, for Hamas by Gazans will be very high now, but do you think the support will remain or turn to anger after this conflict? — Cyril
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
There are many here that are disappointed at both Fatah and Hamas. People blame Israel but also the division between Fatah and Hamas. They believe they are the ones who are paying the price — neither Fatah nor Hamas.
Q. When I first heard Ms. El-Khodary interviewed on CNN early in the invasion, without knowing that she was a reporter, I assumed from what she was saying that she was someone very sympathetic toward Hamas. …
Does Ms. El-Khodary consider herself objective about what she was writing about? I don’t know her background, and if she is Gazan I can certainly understand if she is not. And a second question, what steps does the editorial dept at the NY Times take to insure objectivity of what appears in the paper? By the way, in fairness, I could see the same questions coming up about the reporting of a Jewish or Israeli reporter covering matters from Israel. Thank you. — Joel Bennett
A. Ian Fisher responds:
We have received many questions about how Taghreed’s brave reporting makes it to the page and how our editing process works generally in a story like this one. I would like to say first that I have worked with Taghreed regularly since 2001, and it would be hard for me to overstate my respect for her as reporter. She is tough, fair, skeptical and has been tested in ways our readers, and frankly, her editors here at The Times, would have difficulty fully understanding.
In terms of her objectivity, I can say, in all honesty, I have never had a moment of doubt. She is a Gazan, who lives in Gaza and, like everyone else there, has, I am sure, her personal feelings. But I have spent months with her, at times under fire, at funerals, talking to Hamas people, to Fatah people, to ordinary Gazans fed up with all of it. Like any normal person, she despairs, gets upset and is afraid. But I have never heard the first partisan word out of her. It’s never shown up in any of her reporting. We are all human. But we are also professionals, or try to be, and I think our readers would be surprised at the journalistic detachment Taghreed is capable of. See this sterling piece from Al Shifa Hospital, in which Taghreed grilled the happy fighter from Islamic Jihad. This past summer, she was invited to speak to an Israeli group here in the U.S., and she found it one of the most enlightening moments of her trip.
Many readers have commented less on her writing than on the interviews she gives on television. She does spend a lot of time explaining the point of view of Palestinians and of Hamas. But listen carefully: Apart from a few words a native English speaker might not use because of their connotations, she is describing things as a journalist, not a partisan.
How her reporting ends up on paper, or the screen, is a process worth describing. Because English is not Taghreed’s first language, she works with a reporter or editor to shape her pieces. This is not unusual either for the paper or for Gaza. The Times, like most papers and wire services, has a long tradition of “re-write” in which raw reporting is shaped by someone else. The old film cliché of “Honey, get me re-write!” still exists and has value in turning what people see on the ground into the most readable, complete and balanced report possible.
Since 9/11, news organizations have had to rely more on local reporters more than ever. Because of danger to Westerners, an extraordinary amount of reporting in Iraq has been done by Iraqi journalists, who can blend in, their work molded by newspaper staffers. This is no secret. We, and others, have written extensively about this and we are careful to give credit to everyone who contributes. Our readers have the right to know.
In terms of Tahgreed and this conflict, sometimes she files her notes in written form, which are then shaped into an article, either under her name or blended in to someone else’s article, depending on the needs of the day. Other times, a reporter or editor speaks to her on the phone about what she has seen. I can say, as someone deeply involved, she sticks to the facts. The bottom line is that the final article, under her name, reflects her reporting. We often ask her tough questions: How do you know this? Who told you? Are you absolutely sure? This is not because it is Taghreed on the other end of the line. Every reporter has to answer these questions, and she performs like the best of them.
Update | Wednesday | 1:08 p.m.
Here is an additional response from Ms. El-Khodary to the comments of several readers who asked why she had not directly addressed in this Q&A the question of whether or not Hamas fighters in Gaza were in fact firing from civilian areas.
Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
I thought the firing of the rockets by the military wing of Hamas from the most densely populated areas was clearly mentioned in several articles I wrote or contributed reporting to and also in interviews I gave, particularly to CNN.
It was a hard task as a journalist to get civilians in Gaza speaking out but they felt extremely comfortable with me to dare them to share their pain and frustration at the fighters. Please go back to my articles and read them carefully. Witnesses and injured Palestinians who gave their names and ages are included in several articles I wrote.
During one CNN interview, the presenter asked me, while the fighting was still going on, if Hamas was firing from residential areas. The answer I gave was Yes, since I had evidence of that and since I was a witness to the firing of a rocket from a civilian area. Then the presenter asked me why Hamas was doing that. My answer was that according to a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas has no other option. Hamas says this is the only tool they have to put pressure on Israel to end the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. Hamas’s logic is that the Gaza Strip is so small (physically, just the size of Detroit) that the drones and the F-16 jets will kill fighters on the spot if they fire from next to the border with Israel or from empty fields.
For the first time, during this conflict, it was hard to see the fighters and, unlike previous clashes, they weren’t suicidal this time. Firing the rockets towards Israel and survival were Hamas’s goals during the war. When I asked Zahar if by doing so, aren’t you endangering the lives of the civilians, his answer was to say that no one can dare to question the resistance against the Israeli military occupation.
To conclude, there are those voices in Gaza who are against the Hamas rockets but there are also voices here that are in support of the rockets. When you ask them why, their logic is “resistance and survival.” As a woman from the Jabalia refugee camp told me: “it’s symbolic … it’s a reminder to the world not to forget us.”
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