Los Angeles Times‘ Fuzzy Figures on Gaza Patients

See July 14 update appended to this post: LA Times Corrects on Gaza Permits

In his article today about Gazan men receiving medical treatment in Turkey, freelance reporter Umar Farooq errs (“Residents of impoverished Gaza Strip turn to Turkey for lifesaving medical care“):

According to the World Health Organization, about 3,000 patients from Gaza with life-threatening illnesses apply each month to get treatment at Israeli hospitals, but fewer than two-thirds receive security clearance to pass through the Erez crossing.

According to monthly World Health Organization data, Farooq is wrong on two points.

1) During the most recent one-year period for which data is available (June 2015 to May 2016), about 2,000 patients from Gaza with life-threatening illnesses apply each month to get treatment at Israeli hospitals, not 3,000. In fact, the precise average number of monthly applicants during that time period is 2,048. The most applicants in any given month in the last year was 2,275 (October 2015).

2) Farooq also errs about the number of applicants who receive security clearance, stating: “fewer than two-thirds receive security clearance to pass through the Erez crossing.” In the same 12 month period, the approval rate dipped below two-thirds just one time — to 65.81 percent in May 2016. The average approval rating over the last most recent year for which data is available is 72.59 percent, or “fewer than three-quarters,” not fewer than “two-thirds.”

In a separate issue, the article notes that the 40 Gazan men seeking medical treatment “said they have no ties to the militant [sic] group Hamas, which rules Gaza.” Then, interestingly, the end of the article notes that, in their apartment, “a television is tuned to Al Aqsa TV, broadcast from the Gaza Strip.” Unfortunately, Farooq omitted to note that Al Aqsa TV is Hamas’ official TV station.

July 14 Update: LA Times Issues Stealth Correction

Following communication from CAMERA, editors have amended the online article. The article now correctly reports:

According to the World Health Organization, about 2,000 patients from Gaza with life-threatening illnesses apply each month to get treatment at Israeli hospitals, but fewer than three-quarters on average receive security clearance to pass through the Erez crossing.

Contrary to standard journalistic practice, the editors have not appended a note to the article alerting readers to the correction.

For more Los Angeles Times corrections prompted by CAMERA, please see here.