As it's done with every other hostage it has released during this temporary ceasefire, Hamas used the boys – their dead bodies lying in caskets – as propaganda, parading them on stage before armed terrorists and crowds chanting the rhetoric of a hateful message.
Hamas also didn’t immediately release the body of Shiri Babas, instead substituting the body of a dead Palestinian woman.
“It shook all of us here in Israel, an outrageous spectacle with mothers and fathers bringing Gazans out to cheer at those caskets. Our Prime Minister has made it clear that this cannot be business as usual,” Mencer said on Washington Watch Monday. “These outrageous displays of propaganda cannot be allowed to pass.”
The first break from normal is Israel’s decision to delay the scheduled release of roughly 600 terrorist prisoners, a condition of the ceasefire.
“The next release of 600 Palestinian terrorists will be delayed until such time that we can be sure that we end these appalling propaganda displays, not only against the Jewish people but against humanity,” said Mencer, unable to finish his sentence to show host Tony Perkins “ … the appalling use of children in this terrorism is outrageous.”
It’s news like this that Joel Rosenberg wants the world to see with accuracy, not bias.
Rosenberg, an author and noted Middle East analyst, is also the publisher of All Israel News, which covers events impacting Israel and the Middle East for the evangelical world through its website AllIsrael.com. Rosenberg wants to see All Israel News expand its mission.
“How can All Israel News become the wire service for Christian media?” he asked on American Family Radio Tuesday.
It’s an ambitious goal, one that would make All Israel News content available for Christian media outlets like AFN and many others in the same way that The Associated Press covers the world for many secular mainstream media outlets. That, said Rosenberg, would create new possibilities for Christian outlets that “don’t have the budget to try and replicate” the coverage. “Now you don’t have to,” he told show host Jenna Ellis.
Credibility, credibility, credibility
Mainstream media coverage goes beyond journalists disagreeing with a conservative viewpoint, Rosenberg argued. “It’s that they’re not even being honest about the news,” he said.
Rosenberg said he instructs his team to slow down and trust its own reporting. He used a bomb attack on a Palestinian hospital as an illustration.
The New York Times, he described, “ran an eight-column, huge headline that said, ‘Israel bombs Palestinian hospital” – and added that because it was reported by The Times, “every newspaper in the world ran it.”
An hour and a half later, the Israel Defense Forces released video of a missile being fired from Gaza at Israel. The missile misfired and fell on the Gaza hospital instead. About an hour later, the IDF released audio intercepts of a conversation between Hamas officials saying [in essence], “Did we do that? Yeah, we just did.”
“Within two hours we had the right story, and we led with the right story,” Rosenberg pointed out.
According to the Middle East analyst, All Israel News remains objective while presenting Israel’s side of the story. “Like baseball, we’re going to call the balls and strikes,” he assured.
“I told our team at AllIsrael.com from the beginning, don't focus on [website] traffic, though traffic is growing. You’ve got to focus on credibility, credibility, credibility,” Rosenberg said.
Co-founded by Rosenberg and Joseph Magen, who brings 20 years of experience in technology, real estate and the Israeli venture capital industry, All Israel News launched in 2020 with the goal of reporting news and offering analysis from a biblical perspective.
It’s become a trusted source with exclusive content such as Rosenberg’s tour of Hamas’ underground tunnel system, Netanyahu’s meeting with 14 evangelical leaders before his meeting as the first head-of-state guest for Trump’s second term, and more.
“We've been very critical of Israel when we have to be, if they do something wrong or stupid. And, you know, like any government, bad and stupid things happen,” Rosenberg said.
Strong statement from U.S.
For now, Israel works for the return of hostages from Hamas, dead or alive, to win a fight that began when the terror group killed more than 1,200 civilians and to preserve its future by putting Hamas out of business. And since Jan. 20, 2025, it has the full support of the U.S. president.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement on Sunday that the administration completely backs Israel’s decision to delay the release of the Palestinian prisoners.
“Given Hamas’ barbaric treatment of the hostages, including the hideous parade of the Bibas children’s coffins through the streets of Gaza, Israel’s decision to delay the release of prisoners is an appropriate response," Hughes stated. "The president is prepared to support Israel in whatever course of action it chooses regarding Hamas.”
Mencer said Netanyahu, Trump and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, are in constant communication.
“Our president, your president and Mr. Witkoff are speaking extremely regularly about our hostages, and we will not rest until we get them all out,” he told Perkins.
