Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
From the onset of the “extending ground operation” in the Gaza Strip, the commanders of the Israeli occupation army have continually shifted their stated military objectives. Initially, their declared aim was the “elimination of the Hamas organization.” This objective later evolved to “releasing hostages,” followed by a focus on “targeting Hamas leaders” such as Yahya Al-Sinwar and Muhammad Al-Deif. Most recently, they have claimed their goal is to “paralyze the organization’s military capabilities.” These changing objectives reflect a noticeable inconsistency in Israel’s leadership regarding the management and aims of their “ground operation,” underscoring an apparent inability to achieve any of the initially declared goals.
The leaders of the occupation army did not achieve their stated goal of eliminating the Hamas organization through their ground operation, nor were they successful in freeing their hostages. Some of their attempts to liberate hostages resulted in fatalities. This led to negotiating a hostage exchange deal with Hamas during a temporary ceasefire. Similarly, their efforts to target key Hamas field leaders, such as Al-Sinwar and Al-Deif, also fell short. Despite offering substantial financial rewards for information leading to these leaders, the occupation army’s focus shifted to selectively targeting military commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and politicians outside of Gaza, like Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut.
Regarding the final objective of paralyzing Hamas’s military capabilities, the continued rocket attacks on Tel Aviv, notably on the first day of this year, stand as a testament to the operation’s failure. These attacks demonstrate that Hamas retains its ability to reach into the occupied territories, a capability that has been sustained since October 7 of the previous year.
Amidst these shifting statements about their explicit goals in the operation, the occupation forces and several aligned media outlets have been attempting to disseminate misleading narratives. These efforts seem aimed at fabricating perceived victories for the Israeli occupation army within the Gaza Strip.
False Military Incursions
In the initial phase of the ground operation, there were numerous instances where the occupation army and its affiliated media outlets attempted to propagate the notion of conducting significant military operations in the northern Gaza Strip. This appeared to be a strategy to lay the groundwork for the later stages of the conflict.
On October 26, the occupation army’s spokesperson for Arab media, Avichay Adraee, released a video purporting to show an intensive raid in the northern Gaza Strip. However, analysis by EEKAD, the Arab region’s first open-source intelligence platform, revealed that the actual extent of the ground incursion shown in the video was a mere 160 meters into an area of vacant urban fields. Importantly, this area was identified as lacking any military targets related to the resistance.
لم يتجاوز الـ160 متراً.. ما حقيقة التوغل البرّي الذي أعلن عنه الاحتلال في 26 أكتوبر داخل قطاع غزة؟#فيديو #إيكاد pic.twitter.com/1EjRcg0uHi
— EekadFacts | إيكاد (@EekadFacts) October 28, 2023
Adraee persisted in making dubious claims; on the 28th of the same month, he released another video, alleging it depicted the occupation army’s military operations inside the Gaza Strip. However, the Mesbar website, which specializes in debunking false news, later revealed that the footage showed military vehicles in Ashkelon, not inside the Strip.
The spread of misinformation regarding the ground operation was not limited to Adraee’s statements; it also extended to pro-Israel media outlets and platforms. On the same day, a video was circulated on the @IsraelHayomHeb newspaper’s account on platform “X,” which showed two Israeli soldiers hoisting the Israeli flag atop a building, purporting it to be in the heart of Gaza. This claim was subsequently debunked by Palestinian affairs journalist Younis Tirawi on his platform account.
Similarly, an investigation by American journalist Evan Hill from the Washington Post pointed out that the building was located at the coordinates (31.569028, 34.475769), contradicting the Israeli newspaper’s claim of it being in the heart of the Gaza Strip.
New video geolocated by The Post shows Israeli troops atop a beach hotel in Gaza two miles inside the strip (31.569028, 34.475769).
— Evan Hill (@evanhill) October 28, 2023
“Don’t forget. … Don’t stop until victory,” the man filming says:https://t.co/9zLKaoxdQV https://t.co/O2DZ6WydEW
Egyptian political researcher Mahmoud Hadhoud believes that the Israeli army’s rapid occupation of the Gaza Strip was underpinned by its significant destructive power and indiscriminate bombardment. However, he notes that the army failed to achieve operational success as previously declared. In his interview with Muwatin, Hadhoud remarked, “Israeli society, resembling a settler-colonial society, is constantly conscious of its security being tied to the suppression and elimination of others. Hence, the army’s deceptive tactics, well understood by the Israeli home front, are unlikely to significantly alter its perspective towards Gaza, transcending beyond just targeting Hamas. This mindset is reflected in the statements of Tel Aviv officials, fighters, and public figures.”
Hospitals Under Resistance Management and the Myth of Tunnels
In a subsequent phase of its military operation in Gaza, the occupation army shifted to a new tactic of misinformation. It began justifying its incursions into hospitals and the crippling of the health sector by claiming that resistance factions were using these facilities as military bases.
On November 13, a video was released by the Occupation Army’s account featuring spokesperson Daniel Hagari. He asserted the discovery of a tunnel adjacent to Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, allegedly linking its basement to the residence of a high-ranking Hamas official. The video purported that within the hospital’s basement, the army found military installations, weapons, and documents dated back to October 7. These were claimed to be associated with the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
However, Syrian journalist Murad al-Quwatli’s analysis of the clip revealed that the purported tunnel entrance was an elevator shaft. This was evidenced by an electrical control panel at the top, along with elevator tracks and wires. Additionally, the document that the occupation forces claimed was a plan related to the Al-Aqsa flood battle on October 7 of the previous year was, in fact, a simple attendance schedule. This schedule, with days of the week written in Arabic, was distributed over the course of a month.
أسباب تضرب رواية #إسرائيل عن اكتشافها لنفق يصل لـ #مشفى_الرنتيسي، أبرزها أن ما ظهر بالفيديو ليس نفقاً بل مصعد.
— Murad Kwatly (@MuradSyr) November 14, 2023
متحدث الجيش دانيال هاغاري عرض فيديو له بجانب مستشفى الرنتيسي، وظهر بجانب حفرة في الأرض قال إنها لنفق يصل عمقه إلى 20 متراً، لكن عند التحقق مما ظهر داخل الحفرة، إلى جانب… pic.twitter.com/7b3TBtTqxl
Three days following the initial incident, the occupation army replicated a similar approach at Al-Shifa Hospital, which was under their control for several hours. Striving to construct a more convincing narrative than the one associated with Al-Rantisi Hospital, the army’s account on platform X released a video on November 16. This footage purportedly showed what they labeled as Hamas’ military infrastructure within the hospital, alleging it as evidence of the movement’s military use of the facility. Concurrently, Avichay Adraee posted another video claiming the presence of an operational tunnel entrance adjacent to the hospital.
As has become the pattern, the scenario, as mentioned earlier, was also debunked. An investigation by an Arab television network found that the occupation forces had manipulated the footage and scores. They also showed signs of disarray by releasing one video version and issuing a second, corrected version. Furthermore, it was established that the so-called tunnel opening was just a conduit for large electrical cables.
Youssef Al-Sharqawi, once a Major General in the Palestinian National Security Service, asserts, “The propagation of these falsehoods is a definitive sign of the ground operation’s military defeat. Moreover, even if the discovery of tunnels is valid, it doesn’t equate to the enemy’s capacity to demolish or flood them, as they suggest, given that the tunnels are standalone structures and not interconnected.” In his interview with Muwatin, Al-Sharqawi stated, “The images of hospitals and the act of compelling civilians to capitulate are primarily aimed at Western media, and, on the other hand, they serve to impact the spirit of Palestinians and Arab backers of the cause.”
Surrender of Armed Resistance
The occupation has recently taken its deceptive storytelling to a third tier, with manipulated accounts seeping into its media and influencing journalists. Civilians have been forced into producing footage that falsely depicts the capitulation of resistance forces, a tactic particularly employed in the northern zones of the Gaza Strip.
In early December, various Israeli accounts on the X platform shared a leaked video that purported to show the surrender of armed individuals from Hamas during operations in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Subsequently, the occupation army disseminated another video, similarly claiming to depict the surrender of additional armed individuals from Hamas. The footage showed these individuals under degrading conditions, unclothed, and surrounded by various confiscated articles and weapons—a setup seemingly orchestrated to fabricate yet another deceptive narrative.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has challenged the first clip, which is classified as war crimes against civilians under international law, particularly due to being forced to undress and transfer individuals to undisclosed locations. Additionally, the portrayal of the resistance’s capitulation, as though they were armed combatants, has been disputed. Rami Abdo, the director of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, addressed this issue in a tweet on the X platform. He clarified that the individuals detained in the initial footage were civilians, including Diaa Al-Kahlot, the office director of the Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper in Gaza.
من بين المعتقلين اليوم في مشروع بيت لاهيا المسنين الحاج خليل هاشم الكحلوت 65 عاماً، والحاج رفيق أحمد الكحلوت 60 عاماً، والحاج محمد إسماعيل الكحلوت 57 عاماً.
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) December 7, 2023
مدير مدرسة الأونروا درويش الغرباوي 48 عاماً، وموظف الأمم المتحدة أحمد أكرم لبد 56 عاماً.
والطفل محمد حمزة الكحلوت 15… pic.twitter.com/ge6CaBQLeb
In the second clip, according to the occupation’s claims, Abdu pointed out that the Euro-Med Monitor had identified the person who was forced to film himself surrendering his weapon. It turned out to be a civilian named Mu’ayn Qishta al-Masri, an aluminum workshop owner from the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, who fled to the Khalifa school as a displaced person, where he was then abducted along with others there.
The Palestinian journalist Adham Abu Salmiya stated, “Israeli propaganda has been failing since October 7, not just from the beginning of the ground operation; this operation has demonstrated the collapse of the theory of intelligence strength and the fortified security systems of the occupying state.” In exclusive comments to Muwatin, he added, “The Israeli army did not anticipate the unique development achieved by the resistance factions in managing the media aspect of the battle; it was quite clear that they were very well-prepared and highly professional for this phase.” He also noted, “It is evident that Israel still deals with Arabs and Palestinians with a mindset from the sixties and seventies, thinking that whatever it says will be believed, but this mentality has proven to be utterly ineffective in the age of social media.”
Hadhoud, on the other hand, believes that the true goal of this propaganda is to influence broad segments of the global public opinion, which Israel has largely succeeded in, aided by Western media that provided inadequate and biased coverage of the war. At the same time, there is an emphasis on the existence of institutions with younger age groups who have become more aware of the Palestinian issue and the rights of the Palestinian people.