International Media and the War on Gaza: Modalities of Discourse and the Clash of Narratives

Khanfar has served as President of Al Sharq Forum since January 2012. He holds a postgraduate diploma in International Politics (2000) from the University of South Africa, a diploma in African Studies (1994) from the International University of Africa in Sudan, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering (1990) from the University of Jordan.

Khanfar was appointed Director of Al Jazeera Channel in 2003 and later became the Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network (2006–2011). Prior to that, he worked as a correspondent for Al Jazeera (1997–2003) in several conflict and war zones, including Afghanistan and Iraq, and served as the head of Al Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau.

During his leadership, Al Jazeera experienced significant development and expansion, becoming one of the most influential international media networks in the world, encompassing multiple channels, centres and institutes across various media fields.

On 27 July 2015, he launched the Arabic-language news website HuffPost Arabi in partnership with The Huffington Post.

Khanfar also serves as President of the Common Action Forum and has been a member of several boards and councils, including the International Crisis Group’s Board of Trustees, the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk (Davos), and the Board of the Global Editors Network, which supports editors-in-chief and senior news executives worldwide in maintaining editorial quality in collaboration with publishers, media owners and news providers.

In 2011, Foreign Policy ranked him among the top 100 global thinkers in foreign policy. Fast Company named him one of the most creative people in business; and in 2009, Forbes listed him among the world’s most influential people.

In addition, Khanfar has authored several books, including: Fi Dhiyafat an-Nabi [In the Company of the Prophet] (2021) and Ar-Rabi’ al-Awwal: Dirasa fi as-Siyasa wa al-Istratijiya an-Nabawiya [The First Spring: Political and Strategic Praxis of the Prophet of Islam] (2020).

Dr. Lugo-Ocando previously served as the Director of Executive and Graduate Education at Northwestern University in Qatar. Until 2018, he was an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. One strand of his research centres on the way the news media reports poverty and development while the other focuses on how journalists use statistics to articulate news. He is author of several monographs and dozens of peer-review journal articles and book chapters. He has been a visiting lecturer at the National University of Singapore, the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in the United States, Vietnam National University, the University of Malaga in Spain, among others. Before becoming an academic, he worked as a journalist and news editor for several publications in Latin America and the US and continues to write columns and blogs.

Dr. Layadi has previously taught at universities in the Gulf region and has held numerous administrative and academic positions both within and outside the university. Notably, he served as an advisor at the Presidency of the Algerian Republic, overseeing information and communication. He has supervised – and continues to supervise – numerous doctoral theses in media and communication sciences.

He is the author of 17 publications in the field, including Al-Itisal wal I’lam wal-Thaqafa: ‘Atabat at-Ta’weel [Communication, Media and Culture: Thresholds of Interpretation]; Hawamil al-Hadith ‘an al-Midiya [The Overlooked Nuances in Media Discourse]; At-Ta’amul ma’ Wasa’il al-I’lam: al-Usus wal Adawat [Dealing with Media: Foundations and Tools]; Wasa’il al-Itisal al-Jamahiri wal Thaqafa: al-Qa’ida wal Istithna’ [Mass Communication and Culture: The Rule and the Exception]; Muqaddima fi Naqd at-Talfizyon [Introduction to Television Criticism]; and Iqtirabat Nadhariya min al-Anwa’ as-Sahafiya [Theoretical Approaches to Journalistic Genres].

In addition, Dr. Layadi has translated seven significant works by foreign scholars from French into Arabic, the latest being Sosyolojiya al-Itisal wal-Midiya [Sociology of Communication and Media], published by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Media. Several of these works have been incorporated into curricula in media departments and faculties.

Currently, he is engaged in revising media and communication theories in response to ongoing transformations in the Arab and global media landscape

Dr. Mazahreh holds two PhDs: one in Journalism and Digital Media, and another in Journalism and Media. She has served as Head of the Department of Journalism and Media at the Faculty of Mass Communication and as Deputy Director of the Human Rights Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Mazahreh prepared international reports for the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Human Rights Committee on Jordan’s implementation of human rights agreements between 1996 and 2012. She is also a certified trainer in journalism, media, public relations and human rights, both in Jordan and internationally.

At the University of Petra, Dr. Mazahreh teaches journalism and media at the undergraduate and master’s levels and supervises doctoral research at institutions abroad. She has guided numerous master’s and doctoral theses and serves as a reviewer for academic promotions, research papers and graduate theses for various Jordanian and Arab academic journals.

Dr. Mazahreh has authored 14 books in the field of media, including Nadhariyat al-Itisal [Communication Theories]; Manahij al-Bahth al-I’lami [Media Research Methods]; Ad-Di’aya wa Madaris’ha wal Harb an-Nafsiya [Propaganda, Its Schools and Psychological Warfare]; At-Tashri’at al-I’lamiya al-‘Arabiya wa ad-Dawliya [Arab and International Media Legislation]; and Idarat al-‘Ilaqat al-‘Amma wa Tandhimha [Public Relations Management and Organisation]. Many of these titles are adopted as core textbooks across the Arab world.

Dr. Mazahreh has also published extensively in international and Arab journals, covering topics such as journalism, digital media, digital public relations and political communication. Her forthcoming books include Manhajiyat al-Bahth al-I’lami ar-Raqami [Digital Media Research Methodology], Al-I’lan al-Iliktroni [Electronic Advertising], Al-Khabar wa at-Taqrir ar-Raqami [Digital News and Reports], and Mawdoo’at fi as-Sahafa wa al-I’lam ar-Raqami [Topics in Journalism and Digital Media].

Dr. Abidi specialises in linguistics and the analysis of media and political discourse. She has held several academic and administrative positions within the university, including Head of the Department of Language, Literature and Arab Civilisation at the Higher Institute of Education and Continuing Training; Chair of the Master’s Programme Committee in Language, Literature and Arab Civilisation at the Faculty of Arts in Manouba; and Pedagogical Advisor at the same faculty. She is an active member of editorial and peer-review boards for numerous Arabic scholarly journals specialising in linguistics and discourse analysis.

Dr. Abidi has organised several international conferences within the Tunisian academic sphere, including “Tahlil al-Khitab wa Mas’alit al-Manhaj” [Discourse Analysis and Methodological Questions] and “Al-Iqa’ wa al-Khitab” [Rhythm and Discourse]. She regularly participates in international conferences both in Tunisia and abroad. Her scholarly contributions include several books such as At-Tahlil an-Naqdi lil Khitab: Namadhej min al-Khitab al-I’lami [Critical Discourse Analysis: Case Studies from Media Discourse], Sultat al-Khitab fi al-Khitab as-Siyasi: Bahth fi al-Isti’ara [The Power of Discourse in Political Speech: A Study of Metaphor], and At-Tahlil ad-Dalali lil Jumla [Semantic Analysis of the Sentence]. In addition, she has published numerous articles in Tunisian and Arab journals, including original research and translations, and contributed to several collective volumes focusing on discourse analysis.

Dr. Abidi currently leads a research team working on an Arabic encyclopaedia of discourse analysis and is pursuing a project on media discourse entitled al-I’lam al-Jadeed wa al-Harb [New Media and War].

Dr. Abdallah has held numerous administrative and media positions at the Lebanese University, as well as at research centres and civil society organisations including the Development Studies Forum, the Lebanese Women Researchers Association and the Islamic Cultural Centre. She participated in founding many faculties of information and communication, media and communication departments and graduate institutes in Lebanon and the Arab world.

In 2014, Dr. Abdallah founded the Arab Association for Scientific Research and Communication Sciences, headquartered in Lebanon, which has branches in most Arab countries and engages in numerous scientific research activities. She also established the journal al-Itisal wa at-Tanmiya [Communication and Development], which has published 28 issues so far. She contributed to the preparation and editing of multiple collective books, including al-Fikr al-Itisali [Communication Thought] (2018) and al-Mustalah fi ‘Uloom al-Itisal [Terminology in Communication Sciences] (2020).

She also paid special attention to the problematics of concepts and terminology. Working with a group of researchers, she helped unify research and media terms, resulting in the publication of Ma’jam Mustalahat al-I’lam wa al-Itisal [The Glossary of Media and Communication Terms] (2014).

In addition, Dr. Abdallah worked to develop a theory reflecting Arab specificity and, in 2016, published a work proposing the theory of community participation in communication in the Arab world.

In her book, Matahet al-Tawasul al-Ijtima’i fi al-Fada’ al-‘Am [The Maze of Social Communication in the Public Sphere], she offers a philosophical approach to social communication in the Arab region. This represents a research effort resulting from the work of the research team at the Arab Association for Scientific Research and Communication Sciences, as well as from the results of a recent survey study on social media usage during the COVID-19 crisis, which revealed the particular ambiguity of communication during times of crisis.

Dr. Khalil previously served as Head of the History Department and Director of the Oral History Center at the university. He has supervised numerous master’s theses on the history of the Palestinian cause and contributed to the preparation of the book Al-‘Ilaqat al-Amrikiya as-Sahyuniya al-‘Alaniya wa al-Khafiya [Public and Secret U.S.-Zionist Relations]. He is also the author of Dirasat fi al-Qadhiya al-Filastiniya [Studies in the Palestinian Cause], written for the Qandil Foundation, which has not yet been published.

Additionally, Dr. Khalil has published many peer-reviewed research papers in academic journals on topics related to the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict, including “Mubadarat al-Musalaha al-Filastiniya 2007-2008: Madhmunha wa Imkanat Najahha” [Palestinian Reconciliation Initiatives 2007–2008: Content and Prospects for Success], “Fathi as-Shaqaqi: Hayatuhu wa Jihaduhu” [Fathi Shaqaqi: His Life and Struggle], “Tatawwur Mawqif Hizb al-‘Amal al-Isra’ili min Qadhaya al-Mar’a (1949-2013)” [The Evolution of the Israeli Labor Party’s Position on Women’s Issues (1949–2013)], “Tatawwur Mawqif Hizb al-‘Amal al-Isra’ili min Madinat al-Quds” [The Evolution of the Israeli Labour Party’s Position on the City of Jerusalem], “Tatawwur Mawqif Harakat Hamas min al-Hudna wa at-Tahdi’a” [The Evolution of Hamas’s Position on Truce and Calm], “Tatawwur Mawqif Harakat Hamas min Dawr al-Mar’a wa Qadhayaha” [The Evolution of Hamas’s Position on Women’s Role and Issues], “At-Tarjama ‘an al-I’lam al-Isra’ili: Dirasa Tahliliya Muqarana bayna Sahifat al-Ayyam wa Mawqi’ al-Hodhod” [Translation from Israeli Media: A Comparative Analytical Study between Al-Ayyam Newspaper and the Al-Hodhod Website], and “An-Niqash al-Istratiji hawl Iran fi Marakiz al-Abhath al-Isra’iliya” [Strategic Debate on Iran in Israeli Research Centres].

Dr. Khalil has also published articles in local newspapers and produced summarised translations of Hebrew books into Arabic, such as “Islah Wizarat ad-Difa’ al-Isra’iliya: Bayna as-Saytara wa as-Sulta wa al-Mas’uliya” [Reforming the Israeli Ministry of Defence: Between Control, Power and Responsibility] and “Isra’il 2.0: I’adat Taqyim al-Amn al-Qawmi al-Isra’ili fi Daw’ ‘Amaliyat 7 Oktober/Tishrin al-Awwal 2023” [Israel 2.0: Reassessing Israeli National Security in Light of the 7 October 2023 Operation].

Dr. Alsmadi holds a PhD from Allameh Tabatabai University in Iran. She is a lecturer and a member of Al Sharq Academia. She worked as a university professor at Middle East University between 2012 and 2013 and at Zarqa University between 2011 and 2012.

Dr. Alsmadi also was a correspondent for Al Jazeera Net in Tehran between 2007 and 2010, a writer for the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat between 2009 and 2020, and a reporter and editor for several Jordanian newspapers, including Al-Arab Al-Youm, Al-Liwa and Al-Sabeel. Moreover, she served as managing editor of Al-Arab Al-Youm from 2003 to 2005 and as a research assistant at Yarmouk University.

Dr. Alsmadi is the author of several books, including Iran wa Hamas: Min Marj az-Zuhur ila Tufan al-Aqsa [Iran and Hamas: From Marj al-Zuhur to Tufan al-Aqsa], At-Tayyarat as-Siyasiyya fi Iran [Political Currents in Iran], Al-Arab wa Iran: Muraja’a fi at-Tarikh wa as-Siyasa [The Arabs and Iran: A Review of History and Politics] and Nisa’ fi Ma’tarak as-Siyasa [Women in Politics].

Dr. Abu Dheir has been a faculty member at An-Najah National University since 1991. He earned his PhD in Media from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, in 1996. Between 2001 and 2003, he served as Head of the Journalism Department.

He played a leading role in establishing the university’s radio station, which later evolved into the Media Centre. He also founded the university’s Documentary Film Festival and chaired its organising committee for eight years. Since 2001, Dr. Abu Dheir has coordinated training projects for media students in collaboration with Oslo Metropolitan University. These projects address a range of important themes including press freedom, the right to access information, journalists’ safety and environmental media.

Moreover, Dr. Abu Dheir has supervised numerous master’s students across several fields, including Public Relations and Communication, Cinema and Television, and previously Women’s Studies.

His scholarly work includes nearly twenty articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Notable studies include “Al-Khitab al-I’lami li-Hamas fi al-Hukuma” [Hamas’s Media Discourse in Government] (2012), published in Annals of Arts and Social Sciences, Kuwait University; “What is Press Freedom? A Study on Journalism Students’ Perception of Press Freedom” (2021), published in Journalism Education, United Kingdom; “In’ikasat at-Tawattur an-Natij ‘an Taghtiyat al-Sahafiyyin al-Filastiniyyin lil-Muwajahat bayna al-Mutadhahirin al-Filastiniyyin wa Junud al-Ihtilal al-Isra’ili ‘ala Ada’ihim al-Mihani” [The implications of the tension resulting from Palestinian journalists’ coverage of the confrontations between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli occupation soldiers on their professional performance] (2023), published in Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences, University of Jordan; “Obstacles and opportunities: Palestinian youth’s uses of social media to promote international solidarity” (2025), published in Global Media and Communication; and “Bunyat al-Khitab al-I’lami al-Isra’ili wa ad-Dawr al-Wadhifi fi Bina’ Tamaththulat al-Harb ‘ala Ghazza” [The Structure of Israeli Media Discourse and Its Functional Role in Shaping Representations of the War on Gaza (2023-2024)] (2025), published in Al Jazeera Journal for Communication and Media Studies.

In addition to journal articles, Dr. Abu Dheir has contributed chapters to academic books, such as “Hurriyat as-Sahafa fi Filastin: al-Afaq ar-Rahina wa al-Mustaqbaliyya” [Freedom of Press in Palestine: Present and Future Perspectives] (1999) in Palestinian Perspectives, and “Al-I’lam al-Filastini: Min Tahaddiyat al-Istiqlal ila Rahanat Bina’ ad-Dawla al-Dimuqratiyya” [Palestinian Media: From the Challenges of Independence to the Aspirations of Building a Democratic State] (2019) in Al-I’lam wa al-Intiqal al-Dimuqrati fi al-‘Alam al-‘Arabi: Bidayet Nihayet al-Istithna’ al-‘Arabi [Media and Democratic Transition in the Arab World: The Beginning of the End of the Arab Exception].

Dr. Jones specialises in disinformation, digital authoritarianism and political repression. He earned his PhD in Government and International Affairs from Durham University in 2016. After completing his doctorate, he undertook a six-month postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tübingen before joining the University of Exeter in the autumn of 2016. His research focuses on disinformation campaigns and harassment on social media platforms, particularly those originating in or targeting the Middle East. He is the author of two books—Political Repression in Bahrain and Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media—and has edited several academic volumes on Bahrain and the Gulf region. Jones’s scholarly output includes numerous contributions to edited volumes and journalistic publications, covering topics ranging from digital propaganda to authoritarianism in the Arab world. He has received multiple accolades, including the 2016 Best Thesis Award from the Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS), as well as the UK Alumni Professional Achievement Award from the British Council in Qatar. Widely recognised for his pioneering analysis of online disinformation, he has exposed dozens of fake journalists in a 2020 joint investigation with The Daily Beast and uncovered state-sponsored bot programmes designed to influence US politicians. His investigative work has drawn significant attention. He has also written extensively for major international media outlets, including The Washington Post, Time Magazine, The Independent and The New Statesman.

Dr. Al-Khatib is also an Associate Professor of Methodology and Ethics at the Research Centre for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) at HBKU and the editor-in-chief of Studies in Islamic Ethics, a book series published by Brill. He obtained his PhD from Omdurman Islamic University (2009). His research interests include Islamic ethics, ethical philosophy, Islamic jurisprudence, hadith criticism, the objectives of Islamic law, and the history of Islamic thought.

In addition to numerous refereed studies, al-Khatib has authored and edited several books, including: Qira’at fi Uyounat-Turath al-Akhalaqi al-Islami [Readings into the Perspectives of Islamic Ethical Heritage] (2024), al-Hadith wa al-Akhlaq min Mandhur Muta’addid at-Takhassusat [Hadith and Ethics Through the Lens of Interdisciplinarity] (2023), al-Akhlaq al-Islamiya wa Nasaq al-I’timaniya: Muqarabat fi Falsafat Taha Abdulrahman [Islamic Ethics and the Trusteeship Paradigm: Approaches to the Philosophy of Taha Abdulrahman] (2020), al-‘Unf al-Mustabah: ash-Shari’a fi Muwajahat al-Umma wa ad-Dawla [Violence Made Permissible: Sharia’ Versus the People and the State] (2017), Qabul al-Hadith: Dirasa fi Manahij al-Muhaditheen wa al-Usuliyyin [Acceptance of Hadith: A Study in the Methodologies of Hadith Scholars and Usul Scholars] (2017), Mazar ad-Dawla bayna al-Islamiyyin wa al-ʿIlmaniyyin [The Dilemma of the State Between Islamists and Secularists] (2016), and Radd al-Hadith min Jihat al-Matn: Dirasa fi Manahij al-Muhaddithin wa al-Usuliyyin [Matn Criticism: A Study of the Methods of Traditionists and Jurists] (2011).

Dr. Hala Guta is an academic and researcher in mass communication and media studies. She currently serves as Head of the Department of Mass Communication in the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University. She holds a PhD in Mass Communication from Ohio University in the United States. Before joining Qatar University, she taught at Ohio University and in Saudi Arabia. Her research interests include the intersections of communication, culture, and identity; communication for social change; the role of communication in peace and conflict; and women representation in communication. Dr. Guta has participated in numerous conferences, presenting papers on the role of culture in communication, the role of communication in peacebuilding in post-conflict societies, and the role of media and other cultural institutions in social change and identity construction. She has published research articles and book chapters in several journals and edited volumes including “Echoes of Gaza: Semiotic Analysis of Palestinian and Israeli Political Cartoons During 2023/24 Conflict”, “Periphery of the peripheries: Women in Al Jazeera Arabic News”, “Al Jazeera: Non-Violence and Peace Journalism”, and “Sudanese Women   Bridging Conflict, Journalism, (J)Activism, and Media (In)Visibility”.

Dr. Abusharif received his PhD in Religious and Islamic Studies from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and his Master’s Degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. His academic interests include narrative journalism, religious studies, the decolonisation of storytelling and the intersections of religion and media, particularly digital media disruptions and their effects on contemporary religious authority. He also researches the origins, promulgation and effects of key journalistic framing terminologies used in prominent Western news sources in their coverage and reportage of the Middle East and Muslim minorities in the West.

Dr. Abusharif and colleagues from Georgetown University-Qatar and Hamad Bin Khalifa University have recently been awarded a “Multiversity Grant—Innovation in Teaching Grant”. The project focuses on “developing a case study model for teaching religious pluralism in the Arab and Islamic world”. In the past, he was awarded an “Undergraduate Research Experience Program Grant” to study social media texts and the Gulf Crisis.

Moreover, Dr. Abusharif has worked as a journalist, magazine editor, writer, publisher, translator and academic. His journalistic articles and reviews have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Christian Science Monitor, Dallas Morning News, Religion Dispatches, and The Millions among others. He has edited more than 30 books and translations and has been involved in projects to translate the Quran, as well as classic Islamic texts, from Arabic to English.