CNN’s Christiane Amanpour faces global backlash and apologizes after implying Hamas treated Israeli hostages “better than average Gazans.”
CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour has once again ignited fury worldwide after suggesting during a live broadcast that Israeli hostages held by Hamas were “probably being treated better than the average Gazan.” The remark, widely condemned as morally obscene and factually false, has drawn sharp criticism from across the political and diplomatic spectrum.
Amanpour made the comment while covering the release of 20 Israeli hostages, appearing to downplay their suffering. “They’re probably being treated better than the average Gazan,” she said, referring to captives who had endured two years in Hamas’ underground terror tunnels. Her statement sparked immediate outrage, with critics accusing her of whitewashing Hamas atrocities and showing deep-seated bias against Israel.
Richard Grenell, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, blasted Amanpour as “literally pro-Hamas,” while Senator Ted Cruz’s adviser Omri Ceren declared she was “on the side of genocidal Hamas terrorists.” Israeli activists called the remarks “shameful,” citing testimonies from survivors like Evyatar David, who was forced to dig his own grave by his captors.
Under mounting pressure, Amanpour issued an on-air apology and posted a statement on X, admitting that her words were “insensitive and wrong.” She said she regretted the phrasing and emphasized her prior interviews with hostage families, describing their stories as “horrifying beyond words.”
“I’ve spoken with families who told me their loved ones could barely breathe in tunnels, were starved, beaten, and even forced to dig their own graves,” she said. “Some of those hostages are now returning in body bags.”
This latest controversy adds to a long list of Amanpour’s anti-Israel missteps. She previously referred to the murder of Lucy Dee and her daughters by Palestinian terrorists as a “shootout,” for which CNN later apologized. She has repeatedly insisted on calling Judea and Samaria the “occupied West Bank,” and once compared President Trump’s administration to Nazi Germany, drawing official condemnation from the Israeli government.
Critics say Amanpour’s repeated misrepresentations reflect a systemic bias within Western media that distorts Israel’s reality while sanitizing Palestinian terror. Her apology, while welcomed by some, is being viewed by others as “too little, too late” — a response only after being caught minimizing Hamas brutality before millions of viewers.
As global attention returns to the plight of released and fallen hostages, Amanpour’s remarks serve as a grim reminder of how narrative manipulation in Western media continues to undermine Israel’s fight for truth and justice.
