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Israeli public diplomacy in the Gaza war refers to theIsraeli effort towards bringing more favor of global public opinion toIsrael and its actions during theGaza war.
These efforts take place in the context that a week after the outbreak of the war following the7 October 2023 surprise attack on Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Information was closed and the office's resources were transferred to the newRebirth Administration.[1] The role of explaining Israel's actions has been the responsibility of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs since then.[2][additional citation(s) needed]
On the public side, the Israeli home front also conducts outreach activities, mainly on social networks, in addition to famous personalities and former politicians defending Israel, especially on world television.[3][additional citation(s) needed] Prominent leaders in the world, especially in theWest such asGermany,the Netherlands,France,the United Kingdom, and especially theUnited States, expressed support for Israel, and even visited the nation during conflict.
Israeli public diplomacy, sometimes referred to as "hasbara" (Hebrew:הסברה,romanized: Hasbará, roughly translating to "explaining")[4][5] though in recent times, Israel has shifted away from this terminology toward calling its efforts "public diplomacy",[6][7][8][9][10] faces a number of difficulties.
Even before the war, there were groups ofanti-Zionists in the United States andEurope, more commonly found amongprogressive and more radicalleft-wing organizations and activists.[citation needed] Through activism focusing onintersectionality, uniting struggles across disparate races,ethnicities,genders, andsexualities, the Palestinian struggle has been frequently linked to other struggles such as that of theLGBTQ+ community andAfrican-Americans in the United States. These associations gave legitimacy to Palestinians as a persecuted group requiring public activism for support, which in turn causedpro-Palestinian andanti-Israel bodies inUnited States universities to grow in size and influence.[11] Examples of these groups include theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement,Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), andJewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Several elite universities, such as Harvard University, have also supported Palestinians, often with rhetoric regardingcolonialism andimperialism. Instances of antisemitism have occurred within anti-Zionist activism despite efforts among some groups to prevent this.[12]
The 7 October attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war posed new challenges to Israeli public diplomacy:[13][14][15][16][17]
Foreign media outlets such as theBBC have been accused by Israel and Israel-supportive figures of pro-Palestinianbias,[18] with sources outside Israel reporting a pro-Israel bias inWestern media.[19]
About a week after the outbreak of the war, the Israeli Ministry of Information was closed.[1] The minister heading it,Galit Distel-Atbarian, was quoted as saying that "the Ministry of Information has been emptied of powers and is a waste of public money, and cannot make a significant contribution to the country".[20]
By October 20, more than a billion exposures to content released by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs were registered, some of them inArabic andPersian.[21][additional citation(s) needed] The IDF also has a partnership in the effort, when a video of horrors "through the eyes of Hamas " published by an IDF spokesperson received six million views on its first day of posting.[22] The IDF published many additional videos and many terrorist investigations. Both the IDF and the Foreign Ministry censored very little in order to cause shock to global viewers in order to prompt them to support Israel.[23][24][25] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs screened the film documenting the atrocities of Hamas in dozens of Israeli embassies around the world, and continues to do so.[26][additional citation(s) needed]
IDF spokesmanBrigadier GeneralDaniel Hagari held a daily briefing for the media, usually inHebrew and sometimes in English when he presented important information. As the war progressed, the IDF spokesman disclosed intelligence information and evidence obtained by the fighters and the operational documentation unit in the field that included several reports and claims of Hamas using civilians and civilian infrastructure as human shields. This included videos purporting to show Hamas' use of hospitals for military purposes, and in particular theShifa Hospital, including Israeli statements of it hosting underground headquarters.[27][28][29][30][31][additional citation(s) needed]
The supervisor of the international department in Dover was Lt. Col.Richard Hecht. Under him, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner served in the reserves for many months of the war. After his release from the reserves, Lerner criticized the performance of the Israeli government in the matter of how it presented information.[32][additional citation(s) needed]
On October 15, in an interview withCNN, President Isaac Herzog showcased the document "The Captive Kidnapping Plan", stated to have been found on the body of a Hamas fighter, which details instructions on how to act when kidnapping the hostages. The writing describes that the kidnappers should create chaos, to intimidate captives through coercion,blindfolds, andelectric shocks, and to execute anyone who may pose a threat or distraction. Kidnappers were also instructed to use the captives as human shields if necessary. Herzog also said that fighters were required to document their actions live, and to execute the captives during IDF attacks, comparing these methods to the UN-designated terrorist organization,ISIS.[33][34]
Israeli security forces described a detained fighter's confession, saying that the Hamas leadership had promised them an apartment and ten thousand dollars to whoever would bring a hostage from Gaza, including the elderly, women, and children.[35]
In an interview with the BBC on November 11, President Herzog claimed to have obtained an Arabic copy ofAdolf Hitler'sMein Kampf from Gaza. IDF soldiers reported finding it in a children's room in Gaza, used as a base by Hamas fighters. The contents of the book included notes in Arabic written in marker.[36][37][38] Marc Owen Jones, an associate professor atHamad Bin Khalifa University, characterized the supposed finding ofMein Kampf in Gaza as "an attempt to bolster the narrative that Palestinian children are being filled with hate, are beyond redemption and are thusvalid targets for killing."[39]
On November 14, President Herzog gave a speech at theWestern Wall that was broadcast live to a pro-Israel demonstration inWashington, D.C., where about half a million people participated.[40]
On November 27, President Herzog tookGerman PresidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier on a tour of Kibbutz Bari, which was severely damaged in the initial attack by Hamas. Steinmeier promised that his country would contribute 7 million euros to the restoration of the Bari Gallery.[41][42]
On October 26, in a speech to theUN General Assembly,Gilad Erdan,Israel's ambassador to the UN, presented a photo of aparamedic's burned body who was murdered in Kibbutz Ari. In his speech, he said: "It's notAuschwitz, it's Hamas". In addition, members of the Israeli delegation distributed to those present in the hall pages with aQR code to scan where they could view the atrocities that occurred on October 7.[43]
On October 27, the Israeli Consulate in New York screened a film documenting the atrocities committed by Hamas in front of more than 20 presidents of media organizations, presenters, and senior journalists from theNew York Times and theWall Street Journal in addition to the media networksABC,NBC,CBS, and CNN. At the end of the screening, Ambassador Gilad Erdan gave a briefing to the journalists.[44]
On October 31, Ambassador Erdan and members of his delegation wore yellow badge to theUnited Nations Security Council to protest the discourse against Israel.[45] Senior officials at theIsraeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs andYad Vashem chairman,Dani Dayan condemned the action, with Dayan stating: "This act humiliates both the victims of the Holocaust and the State of Israel."[46]
On November 20, a screening was held at the UN headquarters in New York showing footage of the attack on October 7. The film was shown to UN ambassadors, senior UN officials, and representatives of the New York Jewish community. TheUN Secretary General was not present at the screening, despite his presence being ordered by Erdan personally.[citation needed] At the beginning of the screening, Erdan said: "What is the point of the existence of the United Nations if, onInternational Children's Day, all discussions do not open with condemnation of Hamas, which is committing one of the most seriouswar crimes in history?".[47][48][failed verification]
On December 4, an event was held at the UN headquarters in New York, protesting the UN's response to allegations of rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas. Testimonies, video evidence of the attack, and speeches, including a video speech byHillary Clinton were shown. Ambassador Erdan condemned the neglect shown towards Jewish women by the UN and women's organizations around the world. The event was organized by Israel's ambassador to the United Nations in partnership with theNational Council of Jewish Women in the United States (NCJW), theWorld Zionist Organization, theHadassah Zionist Organization, and the Shusterman Foundation.[49]
Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu spoke with many world leaders to mobilize international support for Israel and was in frequent contact withUnited States PresidentJoe Biden. In addition, Netanyahu often gave interviews to foreign media networks to explain Israel's position and justify conflict and severe actions in the Gaza Strip. On November 27, Netanyahu hostedElon Musk - one of the richest people in the world and the owner of the social network X (Twitter) - and gave him a tour ofGaza City, which was severely damaged following October 7, and showed him the horror film documenting the war crimes committed by Hamas. Afterwards, Musk met with President Isaac Herzog,Speaker of the KnessetAmir Ohana, and MinisterBenny Gantz.[50][51]
"The Poison Machine" was the name given to Netanyahu's (unauthorised) personal propaganda team by Israeli media,[52][53][54][55][56] and the opposition.[57][58] Their efforts targeted Israeli audiences as well as the outside world.[59]
A public diplomacy effort by the Israeli military, the "72 Virgins – Uncensored"Telegram channel, starting on October 9, 2023, shared graphic images and videos of Palestinians taken in Gaza.[60] The channel originally presented itself as independent, but due to its privileged access to videos and images taken by soldiers, it was discovered to be run by the psychological warfare division of the IDF. The channel was shut down for operating against policy by targeting Israelis, with the unit's usual role being to target enemy and other international audiences.[61][62][63][64][65]The Wire described the channel as "racist", for using language like, "Roaches to Be Exterminated".[61]
Gideon Saar, Israel'sForeign Minister, released a statement in December 2024, that highlighted a planned emphasis on American college campuses, which have experienced significantpro-Palestinian protests since the war began following theOctober 7 attacks. The statement emphasized that this initiative will be undertaken in collaboration with American Jewish groups and in coordination with similar efforts by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.[citation needed]
Saar told the Israeli newspaperMaariv, "Israel's hasbara efforts and consciousness warfare have for decades not received the critical and life-saving resources and tools they require. I am determined to make a change. Every shekel devoted to this cause is an investment, not an expense, and will strengthen Israel and its standing in the world."[citation needed]
According toJewish Insider, Saar and his team have been conducting brainstorming sessions with a diverse range of individuals and groups engaged in pro-Israel advocacy worldwide. These participants include social media influencers, cultural figures,professional hasbara advocates, and representatives of various Jewish organizations.[66][67]
In January 2024,Haaretz reported that Israel had purchased a technological system with the ability to conduct mass online influence campaigns and create content aimed at specific audiences. According toHaaretz's sources, the system is aimed at countering an online "hate machine" that is "systematically pushing out anti-Israeli and pro-Hamas disinformation, misinformation,October 7 denialism, as well as blatantly antisemitic content."[68]
In January 2025, agenerative AI social media bot named FactFinderAI, which was developed to promote pro-Israel narratives online, was instead found to be promoting anti-Israel content. FactFinderAI denounced IDF soldiers as "white colonizers inapartheid Israel", expressed support for therecognition of a Palestinian state and deridedAntony Blinken as having "caused immense suffering and devastation in Gaza". The bot also engaged in misinformation, such as denying the killing of an Israeli family during the October 7 attacks.[69][70] According toHaaretz, it was unclear if the bot was "linked to any officially funded project or if it was just developed independently by tech savvy pro-Israel activists."[69]
TheIsraeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the 31 August 2025 resolution of theInternational Association of Genocide Scholars that Israel is committinggenocide in Gaza by claiming that it is "entirely based on Hamas's campaign of lies."[71] According to+972 Magazine, a special unit in the Israeli military called the "Legitimization Cell" works to identify journalists in Gaza that it can depict as undercover Hamas operatives to render them legitimate targets to kill, in an attempt to stiflemedia coverage of its activities in Gaza and quell international outrage overIsrael's killing of journalists.[72]
The Nation has described theAnti-Defamation League as "Israel’s Attack Dog in the US."[73]
TheIDF Spokesperson's Unit created a 47-minute film collecting raw footage of the surprise attack on Israel, including clips taken frombody cameras worn by Hamas fighters that contained scenes oftorture,murder, and mutilation of bodies. The film states that it does not include documentation ofrape cases in order not to harm the families' dignity, except "only the parts after which it is very clear that there was rape".[74] The official name of the film isBearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre but it was called "The Film of Horrors" by Israeli media and the public. Its viewing was restricted and was not distributed among the general public reportedly due to the film's distressing content and potential harm to viewer's mental health. Official representatives of Israel (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDF Spokesman, Israel's Ambassador to the UN) conducted closed screenings for leaders in Israel and the world, includingmembers of parliament,journalists, and media editors among others.[75][76][additional citation(s) needed]
The raw footage from the IDF film focused on the attacks on Israeli civilians and foreign workers.[76] This was substantially different from the heavily edited videos that the Qassam Brigades (the military wing of the Hamas movement) officially published on their website and telegram channel with the watermark of their military media unit, and which has been re-published by many international news outlets, particularly in Arabic. The official edited videos from the Brigades focused almost entirely on the attacks on military infrastructure and killings of Israeli soldiers, and killings of other armed adult men. The Israeli women shown by theQassam Brigades in their official videos were alive and fully clothed. Karina Ariev, a 19-year-oldIDF military surveillance worker [he] taken hostage atNahal Oz military outpost, was also wrapped in a bedsheet, showing only her face.[77] These photos were also included in the Jerusalem Post Israeli papers, but the stories with them speculated at length about possible sexual violence[77]
Al Jazeera English produced their own video covering theOctober 7 attacks.[78] The documentary condemned the proven attacks on civilians, such as themass shooting at the Nova music festival, grenades thrown intoair raid shelters, and thetaking of civilian hostages, while also criticizingIsrael's public diplomacy, particularlyZAKA for ignoring crimes with indisputable evidence, and instead "focusing on the crimes that Hamas didn't commit".[79][80][81]
One counter narrative from some Israelis was that several families released photos and videos to the media that were published by the Palestinian militant groups.[82]
It became a common question in both Israeli and international media to ask for condemnation of Hamas and the October 7 attacks.[83] Pro-Palestinian activists described the question toThe Forward as a tactic to start the narrative on October 7, omitting the events of preceding years, and is "meant to shut down discussion".[84]Mondoweiss writer James Ray suggested that it "muddles" expressions of solidarity and is meant to obscure what they call a "colonial context" of the events.[85]
Governments,[86][87][88] corporations,[89] and public figures[90] from around the world have issued condemnations. TheYale School of Management'sChief Executive Leadership Institute published a "List of Companies That Have Condemned Hamas' Terrorist Attack on Israel", including over 200 companies, mostly from the North America and Europe.[89][91][92][93] Around half of the list was German, includingVolkswagen andBayer, among others.[89][91] In October 2023, more than 100leading German corporations jointly released a statement in major newspapers condemning the attack.[91]
ISIS have previously condemned Hamas, viewing them as apostates.[94] In September 2024 Israeli newspaperIsrael Hayom said that ISIS had condemned Hamas, based on their statement that "The Palestinians are beingsacrificed for Iran", though Hamas was not mentioned by name.[95] Israeli leaders have regularly equated Hamas with ISIS, a conflation that has been described by subject matter expert Monica Marks as an attempt to "muffle criticism of the country's treatment of Palestinians".[96]
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The phrases 'Never again' and 'Never again is now' have primarily been used in reference to preventing a repeat of The Holocaust, but has also been used to advocategenocide prevention more broadly. In an interview withNPR, author and journalistMasha Gessen said "I believe that to deliver on the promise of 'Never again', we have to constantly be checking to see if we are once again sliding into the darkness, which I believe is something that's happening in Gaza today..." and "... we can say that it really resembles the situation not only of ghettos, but of theliquidation of ghettos inNazi-occupied Europe. And this is the moment for the world to say if we're going to make good on the promise of 'Never Again', we have to step in now".[97]
A full-page ad was published in several major newspapers with the title "Never again is now." The ad was undersigned by over 100 German companies, with the message, "We all condemn Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel and we see with horror the suffering of civilians in Israel and Gaza ... As German companies, we stand against all forms of hatred and antisemitism".[91]
The phrase "Hamas is ISIS" was first used by the prime minister of Israel,Benjamin Netanyahu near the end of the2014 Gaza War.[98] Israeli journalists criticized the comparison and his sharing of real ISIS propaganda in social media posts, including photos ofJames Foley from an ISISbeheading video.[98][99][100][101] Neyanyahu followed this by saying,"Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas", in a 2014 speech at theUnited Nations.[102][103] In 2016, the head of the Department of Political Science atHebron University,[103] said it was dangerous to conflate Hamas and ISIS.[102] It was argued by some Israeli journalists that Hamas more closely resembled theIrgun andLehi[104] than ISIS.[98]
In the first days of theIsraeli attack on the Gaza Strip,The Jerusalem Post published an article describing the similarities between the groups' influences, as identified by Dr. Harel Chorev from theMoshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, as well as a quote fromBenjamin Netanyahu saying, "They are savages. Hamas is ISIS".[105] In a public address made alongside SecretaryAntony J. Blinken, Netanyahu said, "Hamas is ISIS, and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed".[106]
Several differences between the two groups have been described by international military experts and mainstream media organizations. Where ISIS seek a theocratic system of government that rejectsdemocracy andpersecutes Christians, Hamas participated in the2006 Palestinian legislative election, with the Hamas-ledelectoral list that won including aPalestinian Christian running for the Christianreserved seat inGaza City.[107][108] Other differences include their positions onnationalism,Shia Islam, andthe destruction of cultural heritage.[109][110][111][112][113]Talal Abu Zarifa, a leader from theDFLP (a secular factionallied to Hamas), said Israel was using the comparison to "justify its annihilation of Palestinian people and bloodshed".[114] Among the commonalities described is their shared status asdesignated terrorist groups by the United States and the United Kingdom.[115][116][117]
The hashtag "#HamasIsISIS" went viral on social media early in the war. Ella Kenan, who works as atravel blogger, promoted the hashtag near the beginning of the Gaza war, asking her 200,000 followers to spread it.[118] The hashtag became one of the most popular in Israel onTwitter/X and had been used in posts containing graphic material.[119] These tweets reached, among others, Ahmed Taha, an influencer from theUnited Arab Emirates with close to half a million followers, as well as the founding partner ofSalesforce and the owner ofTime magazine,Marc Benioff. The message was also included in speeches by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of the United States,Joe Biden.[120][121][122]
Another common hashtag used early on in the war was "#TheWestIsNext", a message directed towards theWestern world implying that Hamas is a threat, not only to Israel, but to the entire Western world.[119]
Several actors, directors, and online influencers defended Israel's actions during the war and advocated for their support.[123][124][additional citation(s) needed]
Former Israeli Prime MinisterNaftali Bennett was often interviewed by foreign media networks, where he argued Israel's military response was justified due to the brutality of Hamas, which he compared to Nazis.[125][126][127][3][128] Bennett also worked to raise the morale of Israeli soldiers and civilians, coining the phrase "We have a nation of lions".[129]
Yoseph Haddad, anArab-Israeli journalist and advocacy activist, had given several interviews to foreign media organizations. He published several videos online describing the crimes committed by Hamas and what he saw as the world'shypocrisy in its attitude towards Israel. Haddad also addressed Palestinians directly in Arabic, calling on them to rebel against Hamas and overthrow it.[130][131]
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a co-founder to Hamas and a spy for theShin Bet during theSecond Intifada, has repeatedly condemned Hamas and itsjihadist ideology in interviews.[132][133][134]
In interviews, British author and journalistDouglas Murray has rejected attempts to blame Israel for the situation in Gaza, saying that "Proportion during a conflict is a joke. Only Israelis are expected to respond proportionately." and that in a war, the losing side usually has more casualties and that does not mean that they are the victim. Murray also came out against pro-Palestinian and progressive protesters and activists who denied atrocities committed by Hamas, and called it "real-timeHolocaust denial".[135][136][137][138]
Actor and founder of the advocacy organization Act for Israel,Noa Tishby expanded her activism's target audience, mainly in the United States.[139][140][141] Political commentator and media hostBen Shapiro has regularly commented on the war during his regular programs, defending Israel while participating in several public debates. In a debate at theUniversity of Oxford inGreat Britain, Shapiro confronted pro-Palestinian students by asserting the cruelty of Hamas and refused to follow "Palestinian propaganda".[142][143]
Nathaniel Buzolic, anAustralian actor best known for portraying the character of Cole Michaelson in the seriesThe Vampire Diaries and its spin-off series,The Originals, has also been a public proponent of Israel. Since the beginning of the war he has raised awareness on behalf of the State of Israel, having flown there to show the world what is happening in the country.[144]
Gal Gadot, an Israeli model, actress, and producer, best known for portraying the charactersGisele Yashar in the "Fast and Furious" movie series andWonder Woman in the movieof the same name, made several efforts to showHollywood the "Horror Movie" of the October 7 attacks.[145][better source needed]
President of Argentina,Javier Milei, has openly expressed himself as an enthusiastic supporter of Israel, having visited the nation several times since the beginning of the war and planted a tree inJerusalem. As a sign of support for Israel, he's said he'sconverting to Judaism.[146]
On November 5, 2023, "Eretz Nehederet" aired a skit mockingProgressivism at United States university campuses. The skit depictedstereotypes of twoqueer activists from theQueers for Palestine movement, supportively talking with a Hamas militant.[147][additional citation(s) needed]
The militant speaks openly about wanting to kill Jews and LGBTQ people, saying "we will throw you from the roof, you homosexual dirt!" with the activists continuing to praise and support him.[148][self-published source]
Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Land in English) also released two skits mocking the BBC news channel for what it expressed as one-sided coverage against Israel and in particular for their report on theexplosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in which they blamed Israel, which resonated with several viewers in Britain and went viral.[149][150][151] On November 14, "Eretz Nehederet" published another skit mocking the BBC, in which the presenter Rachel interviews Yahya Sanwar in a very sympathetic manner and, among other things, accuses anIsraeli baby who was kidnapped by Hamas and cries in the background ofsleep deprivation torture against Sinwar, who is holding him. At the end of the interview, Rachel turns to the BBC's "Moment in History" corner and there, next to pictures from World War II, the narration is heard: "In 1944Winston Churchill refused a cease-fire and continued the genocide ofNazi Germany - which turned the Germans into victims - and Britain into a war criminal".[152][153][154] Churchill has been accused of a genocide duringWorld War II, but itoccurred in Bengal,[155] and there was a babykidnapped on October 7 but the only actual baby (child under two years old) was kidnapped by the Lions of the Wilderness and held inKhan Yunis, above ground by theMujahideen Brigades.[156]
In December 2023, "Eretz Nehederet" aired a skit in English with the participation ofMichael Rapaport mocking the presidents ofthe elite universities by hearing thatAlbus Dumbledore conducts for three professors at Hogwarts who expressed support for the "genocide of Botshams" and after being told that it was because of a lot of money from theQatari state, he also joins. In the second skit, a video clip was shown in which the leaders of Hamas sing as they spend millions of dollars inQatar on luxury following the skit opening where a crying Palestinian actress asks for donations to Gaza, with all the money goes to the leaders of Hamas in Qatar.[157]
Universities often do not follow mainstream thought. Universities within Israel also have a long track record of being critical of the Israeli government than most establishments, during the2023 Israeli judicial reform controversy, a prominent historian at an Israeli university said, "It Really Does Recall Germany in 1933" (an overt analogy to Nazi Germany).[158][a]
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Many Israelis worked during the war to explain and justify Israel's actions, especially onsocial networks.[159] They spread war crimes and civilian attacks committed by Hamas, with many establishing civilian headquarters for the sake of disseminating Israeli hasbara. Israeli media outlets publish content in foreign languages to promote Israeli advocacy.Kan 11 published a series of videos in English,Spanish, Persian, and Arabic.[160] Israeli news site Mako worked online on the outreach effort on itsInstagram account.[161] Videos have been circulated around the internet encouraging and explaining how to join this front,[162] with many private individuals taking responsibility to spread pro-Israel hasbara while publicly criticizing the contrasting discourse.[163][164]
Following the war, a number of civilian information headquarters were established. The Civil Information Headquarters headed by Eliav Batito conducted many hasbara activities that include, among other things, documentation, distribution, translation, fact-checking, and positive news. Veteran organizations also joined the informational struggle.[165][166]StandWithUs is an international pro-Israel advocacy organization that created several videos, infographics, and other content for distribution on social networks.[167] The Israelize association held online seminars designed to train the public for advocacy.[167] The Deployact organization began training programs for the student population and reservists to participate in hasbara missions around the world. A delegation from the organization, which visited theInternational Court of Justice inThe Hague, was widely covered in the Israeli and international media.[168][169]
The argument raised against the effectiveness of the private initiatives is that thealgorithms of the social networks result in the majority of the target audience exposed to the content being Israelis themselves, with only a few percent of the viewers of the content living outside of Israel.[170]
The Civil Advocacy Headquarters (in English:Israeli Spirit) is a non-profit pro-Israel advocacy organization that was established in Israel after the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The organization was established by a group of volunteers with the aim of creating broad awareness of Israel in Israel and around the world, while fighting the increasing rates of antisemitism around the world.[171]
Within a few hours of the spontaneously created organization's beginning, close to 30,000 members joined the distribution pool. As a result, the need arose for content in a variety of languages that would be adapted to a variety of platforms. About three thousand volunteers joined to operate the array in various roles: interpreters, creative and content creators,video editors andgraphic artists, research and production workers,psychologists, andsocial workers. In addition, about 30 technological collaborations with start-up and high-tech companies were mobilized for the organization.[163][166][159]
Hanania Naftali posted a video on Facebook and on X (Twitter) inMalay /Indonesian in his character and voice on a background of photographs that correspond to his ideas, with a written translation in English.[172] The film was watched inMalacca by Kenny Ong who asked an Israeli friend who spoke the language, who became aware of the matter at about the same time: "Does Hananya Naftali understand Malay?" It turns out that the language is ringing in Hanania Naftali's mouth, and the video is a successful propaganda, and the video was also distributed by the Israeli listener. Another video by Hanania Naftali addresses the residents of Malaysia in English.[173]
The "Kidnapped from Israel" campaign began as an initiative of the duo of artists "Deda" and Nitzan Mintz together in a residency program in New York and in collaboration with the Israeli designer Tal Hoover. The campaign, which shows the faces of several dozen of the civilians and soldiers kidnapped by Hamas is based on themissing persons notice format known to the public in the United States. The signs were initially distributed by the artists themselves and the Israeli community in New York, but in a short period of time, it became an outdoor campaign distributed around the world. The signs were placed mainly on walls, barriers, fences, and railings. Each sign refers to one of many abductees who were currently being held in the Gaza Strip. At the top of the sign is written "Kidnapped", in the center is a large photo of the abductee and at the bottom is his name and age, and below them is the hashtag "#NeverJustified" and "Never Justified" (referring to the kidnapping of civilians).[174]
The distribution and hanging of the signs led to lively discussion and uproar around the world. More than once, pro-Palestinian activists around the world were seen ripping off the ads, which also led to many verbal confrontations captured on video and shared through social media and news platforms.[175]
The evening after the surprise attack, the families of the abductees and the missing held a press conference, in which they demanded that the Israeli government open a regular dialogue with the families, appoint a person responsible for these affairs, hold an operation aimed at returning the missing to Israel, and push for the immediate involvement ofArab leaders in the world with the aim of freeing the captives. The government appointedGal Hirsch to be responsible for the matter.[176][177]
Later, the headquarters published three demands:[178]
On October 18, representatives of the families of the abductees met with the President of the United States Joe Biden, who made a special visit to Israel in the midst of the war. Biden stated that the United States fully supports Israel and is working for the release of the abductees, and that it will contribute as much of its resources as is required to accomplish this goal. On October 24, a delegation from the headquarters of the families of the abductees arrived at the UN Security Council discussion regarding the Gaza war. The parents of Omar Neutra, who was abducted to Gaza, spoke at the Security Council hearing and demanded that the UN act to return the abductees following them stating that the UN refused to act against Hamas. The next day, afterQueen Rania of Jordan denied the beheading of civilians by the fighters of the military wing of Hamas. In response, headquarters sent her a link to a coded website that includes videos ofbeheadings, burning of bodies and abuse of civilians by troops.[179]
On October 27, 2023, in a briefing to the foreign media, IDF spokesmanDaniel Hagari presented intelligence information that reportedly proved that Hamas had located its main headquarters and many other pieces of military infrastructure — including an additional central headquarters, a network oftunnels for military operations, shelters for senior Hamas officials, IML warehouses, and Management centers of rocket fire— under al-Shifa Hospital in the heart of Gaza City in order to use the hospital as a human shield and to prevent IDF attacks on infrastructure and senior Hamas officials. The information was also passed on to the intelligence organizations of Israel's allies.[180][181][182]
On November 6, 2023, a commentator on theSaudiAl-Arabiya network said that the command center of Hamas was located under Shifa Hospital, thereby accepting or confirming the words of the IDF.[183] On November 15, 2023, IDF special forcesraided Shifa Hospital and stated that they had uncovered weapons, technological equipment, and Hamas command rooms.[184][185] They further asserted that photos of the Israeli abductees were found on computers seized in the raid.[186] On November 16, an IDF spokesman claimed that a Hamas van full of weapons and intended for the attack on October 7 was located in the Shifa Hospital complex. Tunnel shafts, underground infrastructure, weapons and intelligence information were also said to have been located in the hospital.[187][188][189] On November 19, combat engineering forces,Yahalom andOketz uncovered a Hamas tunnel under Shifa Hospital. One of the tunnels was 10 meters deep and 55 meters long, where one of the entrances was blocked by an armored door with a bullet hole.[190][191] That evening, the IDF spokesman presented photos from security cameras from Shifa Hospital that showed armed Hamas troops taking civilians who were kidnapped on October 7 into there.[192][193] He also claimed that Hamas fighter murdered the abductee Noa Marciano inside Shifa Hospital.[194] On November 22, the IDF spokesman published documentation of the tunnels and basements that were uncovered under the Qatari building at Shifa Hospital.[195] In addition, he let the media accompany them on a tour, photograph them themselves and report them to the public.[196][197][198]
On November 13, 2023, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, together withShayetet 13 and accompanied by foreign reporters with cameras, raided theRantisi hospital in Gaza, which was evacuated before the raid. He presented photographs from the hospital that showed Hamas use for militant purposes stated that it was possible that hostage children were held there. The photographs showed tunnel shafts, amotorcycle used by the kidnappers, documents with Hamas guard duty records, a basement with equipment for a long stay, including electricity (stolen from the hospital), ventilation, a kitchen and toilets, weapons, anexplosive belt, and ammunition found among the patients. In December 2023, the forces of Yahalom, Shayetet 13, and TKS 14 uncovered a long and branching network of tunnels under the Al-Rantisi hospital, containing many strategic Hamas infrastructure and shafts. The tunnel connected the hospital to several areas throughout Gaza. On December 27, 2023, after the mapping of the tunnels by the Yehalom fighters, the forces of theCombat Engineering Corps blew up the tunnels.[199][200]
On November 14,John Kirby, head of theNational Security Council of the United States, said that the United States had intelligence that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using hospitals for military purposes and held and, at the time, likely still held hostages kidnapped in the October 7th attack.[201]
On November 1, 2023, the IDF published a conversation which purportedly recorded how Hamas stole 1,000 liters of fuel from a hospital.[202][203][204] The IDF also shared a video of two IDF soldiers removing large amounts of cash from the hospital's safe and putting it into bags, two small stacks of envelopes had the political party logo of Gaza's government, they soldiers described this as "terror funds" and appeared to be emptying the entire contents of the safe.[205]
During the fighting in the Gaza Strip, IDF forces stated numerous times that they found many weapons and ammunition, including artillery rockets, which they alleged were stored or hidden in educational institutions, schools, andkindergartens. The allegations were documented by fighters of the IDF, the IDF's spokesperson and also by media outlets that accompanied the fighters.[206] On December 2, IDF forces stated that they had uncovered thirtyGrad rockets along with anti-aircraft guns and large amounts of ammunition, hidden underUNRWA boxes.[207]
In the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hamas militants are alleged to have carried outsexual assaults andsexual abuse on a large scale against Israeli women, girls and men. Some international organizations refused to condemn the alleged actions, with some groups saying that these claims were not proven.[208][209]
The British journalist who made the Al Jazeera documentary about October 7 attacks,[210] opined that allegations of sexual assault are a common form of incitement in racist violence.
In response, over 150 Israeli and international women's organizations published a letter in which they attacked the organizations in question: "It is unthinkable that a UN agency responsible for women's rights ignores the abduction of women, babies, girls, children and men from their homes, committing crimes war against women, children and girls, and the murder of over a thousand innocent civilians".[211] They also organized a campaign against theUnited Nations Organization for the Advancement and Empowerment of Women, and the hashtag "#MeTooUnlessURaJew" was created (which is based on theMeToo campaign against sexual violence against women). Many women demonstrated in front of theUN headquarters, and prepared a performance that included women dressed in bloodyleotards.[49][212]
In December 2023, the United Nations Organization for the Advancement and Empowerment of Women published a condemnation of Hamas's actions,[213] but it was criticized by (among others) Foreign MinisterEli Cohen and Israel's Ambassador to the United NationsGilad Erdan, who said that it was too weak and came too late for it to appear as anything but a mandatory, minimum concern statement.[214]
On December 4, 2023, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, in cooperation with theWorld Zionist Organization, the Hadassah Zionist Organization, and other Jewish organizations, organized a protest event against the silence of the United Nations and the neglect of the women harmed by Hamas. Testimonies and evidence of alleged Hamas crimes were presented at the event with many diplomats participating.[49][212]
Israel has released several pieces of incorrect or unverified information, leading to questions about its credibility.[215] Much of the content has been viral in nature, with tens of millions of posts in circulation on social media. A variety of sources, including government officials, media outlets, and social media influencers across different countries, have contributed to the spread of these inaccuracies.[216]
Writing foropenDemocracy, British academicPaul Rogers stated, "Israel must maintain the pretence of an orderly war with few civilians killed. Netanyahu's government is lying, but it would be naive to expect otherwise. Lying is what many powerful states routinely do, particularly in wartime".[217] InThe Intercept, investigative journalistJeremy Scahill wrote, "At the center of Israel's information warfare campaign is a tactical mission to dehumanize Palestinians and to flood the public discourse with a stream of false, unsubstantiated, and unverifiable allegations".[218]
According to the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government of Germany, some misinformation spread online about the conflict has been anti-Semitic in nature.[219]
In December 2023, an analysis byThe Washington Post confirmed reports byHuman Rights Watch that Israel had used white phosphorus in an attack on Lebanon,[220][221] directly contradicting the IDF.[222] In January 2024, after an Israeli airstrike killed journalistHamza Dahdouh, the IDF called Dahdouh a "suspect" who was hit while driving with a "terrorist"; however,The Washington Post found "no indications that either man was operating as anything other than a journalist that day".[223]
After reports spread thata mother and daughter were killed by Israeli snipers in December 2023 in a church where a number ofPalestinian Christians sheltered, the Israeli army denied targerting the compound, but claimed instead there was Hamas activity in its vicinity and Israeli soldiers shot back.[224] Catholic officials and Member of British ParliamentLayla Moran, who maintained contact with refugees in the church, stated, on the contrary, that no Palestinian belligerents were in the area and that the two women had been killed by the Israeli army, who were the ones preventing the refugees from leaving.[225][226][227]
The Israeli army also denied responsibility for the killing of 5-year-oldHind Rajab, her family and thePalestine Red Crescent Society paramedics sent to rescue her, saying that their forces were not in firing range on the day of the girl's death. However, bothAl Jazeera andThe Washington Post concluded, based on investigation of satellite imagery, that Israeli armored vehicles were indeed in the area at the time.[228][229]
In regards to the March 2024Flour massacre, aCNN investigation said that "Mark Regev, the Israeli prime minister's special adviser, initially told CNN that Israeli forces had not been involved". However the IDF said soon after that "soldiers had not fired directly on Palestinians seeking aid, but rather fired "warning shots" in the air".[230]
Afterbombing a tent camp in Rafah in an area that Israel had designated as a "safe zone" for civilians, killing 45 people, Israeli officials initially told their American counterparts that they believed their airstrike ignited a nearby fuel tank, creating a large fire.[231] James Cavanaugh, who worked at theATF, said the fire did not indicate "some giant stash that exploded".[232] TheNew York Times viewed numerous videos and did not find evidence that a significant secondary explosion was ignited.[233]
In October 2023, shortly after theAl-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, Israeli sources published audio purporting to show two Hamas militants in a phone call claiming responsibility for the act and blaming it on a malfunctioning rocket. Hamas claimed the recording was an "obvious fabrication", and the BritishChannel 4 interviewed two independent Arab journalists who expressed similar views.[234]
In November 2023, a video posted by the IDF showedDaniel Hagari, inside theAl-Rantisi Children's Hospital, where he claimed that the IDF had found Hamas weapons and technology, as well as a "list of terrorist names" in Arabic with the title "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood", showing each agents' rota guarding the hostages. However, a translation of the document showed that it contained no names but instead a calendar of the days of the week.[235] After the questioning of the veracity of the claim, an Israeli spokesperson backtracked, but CNN, while removing the segment, did not provide an editors' note acknowledging the change or the dispute over the initial video.[236]
In December 2023, Israel stated there was a Hamas tunnel network connected to theAl-Shifa Hospital; however, a report byThe Washington Post found "There is no evidence that the tunnels could be accessed from inside hospital wards".[237] That same month, Israel claimed12 UNRWA staff members had participated in the 7 October attack on Israel; however, theFinancial Times,Sky News, andChannel 4 all stated that Israel's claims were not proven by the intelligence documents they reviewed.[238][239][240] In February 2024, the IDF stated Hamas was stealinghumanitarian aid, leadingDavid M. Satterfield, a senior U.S. envoy, to say there was no evidence to support Israel's claims.[241]
Members of ZAKA including Otmazgin and Simcha Greiniman claimed to have photos depicting genital mutilation, including nails and knives inserted into the groin and genitals.[242] These were shared with the UN's Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in ConflictPramila Patten's fact-finding mission, as well as NBC News. Both concluded these claims could not be verified based on the provided photos.[243] Israeli soldiers, the Israeli Forces, and the first responder Israeli organizationZAKA said on French Israeli TV channeli24news that they had seen the bodies of beheaded infants at the site of theKfar Aza massacre.[244][245][246] This claim was repeated by U.S. President Biden separately, who stated that he "had seen photographic evidence of terrorists beheading children".NBC News called reports of "40 beheaded babies" unverified allegations,[247] adding that they appeared "to have originated from Israeli soldiers and people affiliated with the Israel Defense Force" and that "an Israeli official told CNN the government had not confirmed claims of the beheadings".[247] The allegation mainly "stemmed from a viral Israeli news broadcast clip" and the main X /Twitter accounts propagating the claims were i24NEWS and Israel's official account, even though Israeli Defense spokesperson Doron Spielman told NBC News that he could not confirm i24NEWS's report.[247]
In a speech to theRepublican Jewish Coalition on 28 October,Eli Beer, founder of Israeli volunteer EMS groupUnited Hatzalah, claimed that Hamas had burned a baby alive in an oven, with many journalists sharing the claim in tweets seen over 10 million times.[248] Israeli journalists and police found no evidence for the claim, and a representative ofZAKA, a first responder organization, said the claim was "false".[248][249][250]
On 4 December 2023,Haaretz reported on Israeli claims about beheaded babies, stating that these "unverified stories [had been] disseminated byIsraeli search and rescue groups,army officers and evenSara Netanyahu".[251][252][b]
TheAP reported that two ZAKA volunteers, including its commander Chaim Otmazgin, made false statements about sexual violence and rape on October 7.[254] Otmazgin claimed he found a raped woman due to her pants having been pulled down below her waist. He showed photos to the AP as part of his testimony. However, this had been caused by her body being moved by a group of soldiers.[254] Yossi Landau, another ZAKA volunteer, claimed he found a pregnant woman killed with a fetus removed from her womb. This was also proven to be false.[254] When challenged, Landau offered to show Al Jazeera a photo on his phone of the stabbed foetus, but is filmed admitting he is unable to do so.[255]
United Nations (UN) Director-GeneralAntonio Guterres has accused Israel of spreading misinformation about the war in Gaza in an attempt to lower the credibility of the UN.[256] Speaking about Israel's decision not to allow foreign journalists into Gaza, UN secretary-generalAntonio Guterres stated, "Denying international journalists entry into Gaza is allowing disinformation and false narratives to flourish".[257] The technology director of theInstitute for Strategic Dialogue stated, "The corrosion of the information landscape is undermining the ability of audiences to distinguish truth from falsehood on a terrible scale".[258]
Concepts
In a full-page ad published in major Sunday newspapers in Germany with the headline "Never again is now", the 106 undersigned companies, representing the bulk of the country's economy employing millions of workers, denounced antisemitism and Jew hatred.
…if anybody accuses me of defending Hamas in what I'm about to write, I accuse them in turn of supporting the war in Gaza because they enjoy seeing Palestinian children killed. One claim is as fair as the other.
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