Independent journalist David Collier exposed the photograph of an emaciated starving child from Gaza, Mohammed, which went around the world. The child, who was presented as a victim of hunger, suffers from cerebral palsy, which caused muscle atrophy. However, his suffering was weaponized—first by Hamas, and then by the global media.
The worldwide frenzy began on July 23, 2025, when the Daily Express newspaper placed the image of Mohammed on its front page. In the article, Mohammed's image was used to promote the narrative of mass hunger in Gaza. Within hours, almost all major publications used this image to tell the same story
The image used by most publications was licensed by Anadolu, the Turkish state news agency headquartered in Ankara. The photographs were taken by Gaza-based photographer Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-Arini, but another resident of Gaza also photographed the family and published similar images.
In unpublished photos, Mohammed's healthy older brother, Jude, born on April 18, 2022, and now 3 years old, is depicted. Mohammed himself is now 1.5 years old. Both Mohammed's mother and his older brother appear healthy and do not suffer from the hunger that should have caused the thinness that afflicts Mohammed. According to Collier, the images published in various news outlets were either deliberately cropped to remove the image of the healthy brother, blurred beyond recognition, or journalists used only those photos where the brother is not visible at all.
In a medical report published in May 2025 by the Gaza Aid Association "Basma," it is stated that Mohammed is diagnosed with cerebral palsy—a group of neurological disorders affecting movement, muscle tone, and posture. The report notes that Mohammed suffers from hypoxemia (lack of oxygen in the blood), which may be related to a presumed genetic disorder inherited in an "autosomal recessive manner."
Meanwhile, the media tells the same "fake" story about the death of the boy's father, who was allegedly killed when he went out for groceries. Again, to emphasize the narrative of a hunger tragedy in Gaza.
Meanwhile, it became known that Mohammed's father was killed in Jabalia as a result of what appears to be a targeted strike on Al-Qassabib Street. Hamas attacked the IDF at this place and time.
And this is not an isolated story. Time and again, the most common images of "starving children" in Gaza turn out to be photos of children with serious illnesses, unverified by the global media.