Headlines
| CNN: | New explosions rock Beirut |
| BBC: | Lebanon ‘has been torn to shreds’ |
| Fox News: | Israeli Warplanes Target Hezbollah Leadership |
| Le Monde: | Israël promet une offensive “sans limite” au Liban, le Hezbollah réplique [Israel promises an “indefinite” offensive on Lebanon, Hezbollah replies] |
| Haaretz: | IAF targets top Hezbollah figures in Beirut bunker, IDF warns south Lebanon residents to leave homes |
| Al-Jazeera: | Israel bombs ‘Hezbollah bunker’ |
| Comments: | Notice Al-Jazeera’s quote marks around ‘Hezbollah bunker’, reinforcing Hezbollah statements in the article. CNN and BBC mention Lebanon only; Fox and Al-Jazeera mention Israel only; Le Monde and Haaretz refer to both. |
Lead Paragraphs
| CNN: | New explosions shook Beirut early Thursday, hours after Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker where Hezbollah leaders were holed up, according to the Israel Defense Forces. |
| BBC: | The Lebanese prime minister has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants, saying his country “has been torn to shreds”. |
| Fox News: | A wave of Israeli warplanes blasted a bunker in south Beirut thought to hold Hezbollah’s top leaders Wednesday, intensifying an offensive against the guerrillas despite mounting international pressure and an appeal from Lebanon to spare the country further death and devastation. |
| Le Monde: | Alors que la situation humanitaire est de plus en plus tendue au Liban, le cabinet de sécurité israélien, réuni à Jérusalem sous la direction d’Ehoud Olmert, le premier ministre israélien, a décidé, mercredi 19 juillet, de la poursuite des offensives au Liban et dans la bande de Gaza “sans limite dans le temps”, a-t-on appris de source gouvernementale. [As the humanitarian situation becomes increasingly tense in Lebanon, the Israeli security cabinet–meeting in Jerusalem under the leadership of Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister–decided Wednesday to pursue attacks on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip indefinitely, according to a government source.] |
| Haaretz: | Israel Air Force warplanes renewed airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs Thursday just after daybreak, Hezbollah TV reported. |
| Al-Jazeera: | Israeli jets have dropped bombs on an area of southern Beirut where senior Hezbollah leaders were thought to be sheltering. |
| Comments: | BBC and Le Monde (like most European media) focus on Arab humanitarian crisis. CNN and Fox like the “shock and awe” approach. Note that Haaretz quotes Hezbollah TV a lot. Al-Jazeera’s wording makes the Israelis comes across as foolish (”were thought to be sheltering”). |
Total Casualty Counts
| CNN: | Para 6-7: Another 1,000 people have been wounded and 500,000 displaced since hostilities began a week ago, Siniora said in a televised national address. The Lebanese Internal Security Forces reported, however, that 216 people had been killed and 524 injured as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Para. 13: With Wednesday’s deaths, 29 Israelis — 15 civilians and 14 soldiers — have been killed in the weeklong fighting, according to the IDF. |
| BBC: | Para. 2: Fouad Siniora said more than 300 people had been killed and 500,000 others displaced in a week of Israeli attacks.
Para. 7: Twenty-nine Israelis have died - including 15 civilians killed by rocket attacks - since the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah militants began eight days ago. |
| Fox News: | Para. 9: He said his country “has been torn to shreds” with about 300 people killed, and pointedly criticized the U.S. position that Israel acts in self-defense.
Para. 24: At the close of the eighth day of fighting, a total of 29 people had been reported killed on the Israeli side of the border, including 14 soldiers and 15 civilians. Para 25-27: Saniora said about 300 people had died in Lebanon, 1,000 wounded and half a million were displaced. But precise casualty figures were difficult to confirm. The police control room announced a total death count in the late morning. As of midday Wednesday, police said 277 had died in Israeli air and missile strikes. The figure at noon Tuesday was 237, which would suggest 40 people had died in the 24 hours ending noon Wednesday. It was not clear if Saniora had simply rounded the 277 figure up or if he knew of 23 additional deaths Wednesday afternoon. |
| Le Monde: | Para. 10: Au total, 279 civils et 23 soldats libanais ont officiellement péri depuis le déclenchement, le 12 juillet, de l’offensive israélienne contre le Liban. Durant cette période, 538 civils et 64 soldats libanais ont été blessés, selon un bilan partiel établi par l’AFP. Aucun bilan des victimes civiles de la banlieue sud de Beyrouth, pilonnée depuis samedi et où les dégâts sont considérables, n’était disponible.
[In total, 279 civilians and 23 Lebanese soliders have officially died since the start of hostilies July 12 by Israel against Lebanon. During this period, 538 civilians and 64 Lebanese soldiers have been injured, according to a partial assessment by AFP. According to the assessment, figures are not available for civilian casualties in southern Beirut suburbs where damage from attacks on Saturday is considerable.] Para. 11L Durant la même période, le nord d’Israël a été la cible de plusieurs centaines de roquettes tirées par le Hezbollah qui ont tué 16 civils. [During the same period, northern Israel has been the target of hundreds of rockets launched by Hezbollah which have killed 16 civilians.] |
| Haaretz: | no mention |
| Al-Jazeera: | no mention |
Paragraph number where Hezbollah rocket attacks first mentioned
| CNN: | 9 (of 37) |
| BBC: | 7 (of 27) |
| Fox News: | 6 (of 36) |
| Le Monde: | 3 (of 11) |
| Haaretz: | 13 (of 61) |
| Al-Jazeera: | 34 (of 42) |
| Comments: | The placement of facts is often indicative of how a particular editor or news outlet wants to spin a story. The earlier something appears (in an article, paragraph, or sentence), the more it is perceived and received as truthful or important.
Compare the following two statements: “Israel is showing ‘no mercy’ in attacking Beirut, said a Lebanese government source” vs. “According to a Lebanese government source, Israel is showing ‘no mercy’ in attacking Beirut.” |
Image on front page
| CNN: | Smoke rises over Beirut early Thursday. |
| BBC: | Crying Arab woman and stunned Arab girl |
| Fox News: | Israeli army vehicles maneuver near the Lebanese border. |
| Le Monde: | Men removing casualty from building rubble |
| Haaretz: | Mourners attending the funeral of 2 children killed in a Nazareth rocket strike on Wednesday |
| Al-Jazeera: | Three Israeli jets |
| Comments: | Again, BBC and Le Monde focusing on plight of the Arabs. CNN and Fox taking the cowboy route. Haaretz mourning suffering of Israelis. Al-Jazeera reinforcing image of Israel as military monster. |
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