Israel Medical Association Journal

Background: The Gaza–Israeli conflict poses challenges for unbiased reporting due to its complexity and media bias. We explored recent scientific publications to understand scholarly discourse and potential biases surrounding this longstanding geopolitical issue.

Objectives: To conduct a descriptive bibliometric analysis of PubMed articles regarding the recent Gaza–Israeli conflict.

Methods: We reviewed 1628 publications using keywords and medical subject headings (MeSH) terms related to Gaza, Hamas, and Israel. We focused on articles written in English. A team of researchers assessed inclusion criteria, resolving disagreements through a third researcher.

Results: Among 37 publications, Lancet, BMJ, and Nature were prominent journals. Authors from 12 countries contributed, with variety of publication types (46% correspondence, 32% news). Pro-Gaza perspectives dominated (43.2%), surpassing pro-Israel (21.6%) and neutral (35.1%) viewpoints. Pro-Gaza articles exhibited higher Altmetric scores, indicating increased social media impact. Pro-Israel publications were predominantly authored by Israelis.

Conclusions: The prevalence of pro-Gaza perspectives underscores challenges in maintaining impartiality. Higher social media impact for pro-Gaza publications emphasizes the need for nuanced examination. Addressing bias is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of this complex conflict and promoting balanced reporting.

Worldwide, students of healthcare professions attend clinical rotations at medical facilities. Much research, and consequently scientific publications, is produced during their studies, bearing the fruits of student–faculty collaboration. To the best of our knowledge, no previous contract has been proposed detailing the fine print to pre-determine mutual responsibilities and privileges of students and faculty. Our objective was to present such a contract to the relevant students and faculty. We conducted a literature review to study existing proposals and solutions for this dilemma. Appropriate guidelines were also scanned. We included a proposal for a standard contract as the basis for student–faculty agreement for conducting research and publishing collaborative work. Questions regarding the relative contribution of students and subsequent authorship often arise. Vague rules and absent regulations in this realm can, at times, can be disadvantageous to students. We foresee a future role for our proposed agreement.