Pro-Israel protesters gathered outside the New York Times headquarters in Manhattan on Thursday to denounce the newspaper over an article detailing allegations of sexual abuse and torture against Palestinian detainees held by Israel , as Israeli officials escalated attacks on the publication and threatened legal action.
Demonstrators waved Israeli flags and held signs accusing the newspaper of spreading "blood libel" and anti-Israel propaganda following the publication of a column by veteran New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, describing abuse inside Israeli detention facilities.
Videos circulating online showed protesters chanting slogans including "Stop the libels, stop the hate" outside the newspaper's offices in New York City.
The protests came amid a broader backlash from Israeli officials and pro-Israel commentators over Kristof's article, which detailed allegations of sexual assault, beatings and degrading treatment of Palestinians detained during Israel's war on Gaza.
The article also cited testimonies of detainees being attacked and sexually assaulted by dogs while in Israeli custody.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the article as a "blood libel", while Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced plans to pursue legal action against the newspaper, accusing it of publishing false and inflammatory claims about Israeli soldiers and prison personnel.
The New York Times strongly rejected the accusations and defended the reporting behind the article.
In a statement to Al Jazeera , New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha described the threatened lawsuit as "part of a well-worn political playbook that aims to undermine independent reporting and stifle journalism that does not fit a specific narrative".
"Any such legal claim would be without merit," she added.
In a separate statement, New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander described Kristof's article as a "deeply reported piece of opinion journalism" based on "on-the-record accounts" and corroborated witness testimony.
Stadtlander said the allegations detailed in the article had been "extensively fact-checked" and cross-referenced with news reporting, human rights investigations and consultations with independent experts.
Kristof's article drew on testimony from former Palestinian detainees who said they were subjected to sexual humiliation, physical abuse and torture while held in Israeli detention centres following the outbreak of the Gaza war.
The allegations form part of a growing body of evidence that Israel has been torturing and sexually abusing Palestinian detainees.
In particular, facilities such as the notorious Sde Teiman military detention camp have faced mounting accusations of abuse from former detainees, Israeli whistleblowers, rights organisations and UN experts.
Previous investigations and reports by human rights groups and media outlets have documented instances of abuse ranging from severe beatings, degrading treatment to rape, sexual assault and medical neglect inside Israeli detention facilities.
The controversy surrounding the New York Times article has also drawn attention because the newspaper has historically been regarded as sympathetic to Israel in its coverage of Palestine, with pro-Palestinian activists and media analysts long accusing it of privileging Israeli narratives and perspectives.
The latest controversy comes amid intensifying disputes over media coverage of Israel's war on Gaza, with journalists, rights groups and international organisations increasingly warning of growing pressure campaigns targeting reporting on Israeli abuses during the conflict.