Fact and Fiction about Civilians in Gaza
Since Dec. 27 when Israel began a new attempt to stop Iran-backed Hamas from its years-long campaign to kill and injure civilians in Israel, some have used the opportunity to spread misinformation about Israel’s actions, intentions and the overall situation in Gaza. Following are examples of fabrications – refuted by factual accounts provided by international aid organizations, Arab leaders, and Palestinian journalists.
"While there is real suffering in Gaza, it is important to sort fact from fiction and understand that Hamas is responsible for this sad situation," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project. "The important thing now is to defeat terror so that there can be a two-state solution and lasting peace. Both sides need a better future."
1) Allegation: Israel killed a United Nations humanitarian worker.
Fact: According to IDF spokesman Jacob Dallal, “We are certain that the IDF did not kill the UN driver. Moreover, we strongly suspect it was Hamas." [1]
Israel does not target humanitarian workers on humanitarian missions. Indeed, Israel has ensured that 705 truckloads and 15,000 tons humanitarian aid, in addition to 10 ambulances, were transported through Israeli crossings into Gaza since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead. [2]
Humanitarian relief agencies are contracting Palestinians inside Gaza to transport aid shipments. United Nation World Food Program Representative Barbara Conte said that aid workers are not the target of the Israel Defense Force’s military operation. [3]
Israel maintains a three-hour cease-fire everyday in order to facilitate the safety of aid workers and transport drivers traveling in- and- out of Gaza. [4] IDF Spokesman Ilan Tal states “Our intention is to allow for any needed humanitarian aid to come in and to coordinate with all the international organizations." [5]
On the other hand, Iran-backed Palestinian terrorists repeatedly utilize the humanitarian aid and fuel depot crossings to launch attacks against Israeli civilians. The most recent attack at a crossing was on June 4, 2008 at the Nahal Oz fuel crossing, critically wounding a Palestinian worker [6] For a complete list of recent Palestinian terrorist attacks at humanitarian crossings. Just today, however, while Israel stopped its military actions in Gaza for a humanitarian break, Hamas continued to shoot rockets aimed at Israeli civilians. [7]
2) Allegation: Israel ordered more than 100 Palestinian civilians into a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood on Sunday Jan. 4, and then intentionally shelled the building killing more than 30 people.
Fact: According to The IDF spokesman Jacob Dallal, "After checking allegations, we are unaware of soldiers instructing people to enter any specific building in the Zeitoun neighborhood and are also unaware of any targeted attack in Zeitoun on Jan. 5." [8]
IDF Spokesperson Maj. Avital Leibovich said today, "There have been inquiries and as far as we can tell, it did not happen."[9] In addition, IDF Spokesman, Maj. Jacob Dallal, said an investigation of the UN allegations showed the building was not deliberately targeted.[10]
Palestinian terrorists and even the police in Gaza are fighting in civilian clothing, making it difficult to reduce civilian causalities. In addition, Hamas terrorists have planted explosives in civilian residence buildings so that in the event of IDF fire, the entire structure will explode. [11]
According to Intelligence Corps Officer-in-Chief, Brigadier General Yuval Halmish, Hamas is preventing Palestinian civilians from receiving IDF leaflets asking Gaza residents to leave evacuate their homes. “They [Hamas] booby-trapped the entrances of civilian houses with explosives put close to them; the objective is of course to hit our forces but a local explosion also damages the houses of the civilians and causes great damage, and likely killing civilians.” [12]
3) Allegation: A Red Cross convoy was fired upon by Israeli troops south of Gaza city on Thursday, Jan. 8.
Fact: IDF Spokesperson Maj. Avital Leibovich said that the army learned of the Red Cross allegations in a media report, and that the Red Cross had not yet presented the evidence to the army. Leibovich also said “We do our utmost to avoid hitting civilians, and many times we don't fire because we see civilians nearby…We are holding meetings with U.N. officials to try to work out a mechanism so that their work can go forward.” [13]
4) Allegation: Israel shelled a UN school in Jabalia without reason killing more than 40 people.
Fact: Patrick Martin from Canada’s Globe and Mail on Jan 29th, reporting from Jabalya, claims the UNWRA story is false. Stories of one or more shells landing inside the schoolyard were inaccurate. Physical evidence and interviews with several eyewitnesses, including a teacher who was in the schoolyard at the time of the shelling, make it clear: While a few people were injured from shrapnel landing inside the white-and-blue-walled UNRWA compound, no one in the compound was killed. The 43 people who died in the incident were all outside, on the street, where all three mortar shells landed. [14]
Watch this video of Alarabiya-TV reporter Hannan al-Masri caught unaware as she learns that a Hamas missle has just been fired from the building she lives in.
5) Allegation: There’s no food in Gaza and people are starving. News reports, including one produced by TV station France 2 on Dec. 29, showed a Gaza resident in a food store saying: “Apparently, there is nothing, as you can see. There are no natural products for the kids. There is no milk. There is nothing here.”[15]
Fact: Many warehouses in Gaza are filled to capacity, according to international aid groups.
In the same France 2 TV clip referenced above, upon closer inspection, shelves filled with food can be seen in the reflection of a refrigerated door in the store. To see clip: click on http://jt.france2.fr/20h/; click on “Lundi 29” – below the small screen; to the right of the new screen, click “Vie dans la bande de Gaza” The World Food Program informed Israel that it would cease shipment of food to Gaza because the warehouses there are at full capacity, with enough food to last two weeks.[16]
During a one-day period alone – Dec. 31– Israel facilitated the transport of 29 truckloads of food, including 15 truckloads of flour, into Gaza.[17] And even as Hamas was firing rockets and mortars during Israel during the ceasefire, Israel facilitated the delivery of 2,500 tons (delivered on 93 trucks) of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication through the Kerem Shalom cargo terminal.[18]
Since the beginning of the operation, about 6,500 tons of aid have been transferred into Gaza at the request of the international organizations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments. Preparations are underway to facilitate further shipments.[19]
Still, despite the fact that Israel is delivering food every day there are distribution issues with some food products due to the war-time situation. Indeed, when Israel stopped fighting for a three hour humanitarian break, Hamas kept shooting rockets into Israel and attacking Israelis. [20]
There also seems to be evidence that Hamas is stealing the humanitarian aid bound for the Gazan population at large and reselling it at outrageous prices. As more than 800 trucks totaling over 25,000 tons of aid enter Gaza, there are repeated and horrifying reports that Hamas terrorists have seized aid, distributing it to its own members and supporters, and selling what is left to the impoverished civilians. The UN corroborated this report and on Friday, 6 February UNRWA suspending its humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip after Hamas stole supplies the United Nations organization had transferred to the Palestinian territory for a second time. Clearly, Hamas is using the Palestinian population in Gaza "cruelly and cynically" and is solely responsible for hardship there.
On Sunday (11 Jan.), in a Hamas internet forum, surfers complained about the confiscations of flour donations in Dir-al'Balech by Hamas elements. There is also a description of how Hamas transfers the donations to its own warehouses, and distributes them to only two bakeries in the city – Albana Bakery and Al-Tzalah Union Bakery – both of which belong to Hamas.
6) Allegation: Gaza has no medical and other aid supplies to help the injured.
Fact: The daily ‘humanitarian corridor' has been extended from three to four hours per day. Since the beginning of the operation a total of 1,136 trucks of produce have entered the Gaza Strip with over 26,000 tons of goods. In addition, fuel trucks and medical personnel have entered Gaza
The deliveries include basic food commodities, medication, medical supplies and blood units. Another 106 truckloads of humanitarian aid are expected to arrive in Gaza on Jan. 31.[21] [22]
The crossings to Gaza are open for the transfer of humanitarian aid from all international organizations, in full cooperation with the Israeli authorities and without restriction.[23] In a one-day period – Dec. 31 – Israel enabled the transport of 9 truckloads of medicine and medical supplies, along with 10 ambulances, into Gaza.[24]
Israel is continuing to expand the humanitarian effort to the best of its ability. Live films of the entrance of the aid trucks into the Gaza Strip can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhsjpTWsMh4
Among the priorities of the humanitarian coordination led by Israel in Gaza
- the transfer of goods into Gaza
- the repairs of electrical grid and sewage systems
- evacuation of wounded
- coordination of medical assistance and evacuation of foreign and dual nationals.
- The electrical supply is also being rehabilitated, the grid has been repaired and electricity is at 74% capacity up from 40% earlier in the operation. Rehabilitation of the power network is a direct result of the coordination between the IDF, the Palestinian Energy Authority and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
7) Allegation: Israel is refusing to allow injured Gazans into Israeli and Egyptian hospitals for treatment.
Fact: Israel has allowed a number of Palestinians into Israel for medical treatment they couldn’t receive in Gaza.
On Dec. 31, for example, 12 Palestinians accessed Israel for medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. Two of those evacuated were injured children; the remaining were chronically sick people, and their escorts, who were allowed into Israel for treatment not available in Gaza.[25]
Further, Hamas – in an effort to exploit the suffering of innocent civilians - has refused to allow injured Palestinians to leave Gaza to go to Egypt for treatment.[26] Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Gheit said earlier this week that Hamas was not allowing wounded Palestinians to cross the border into Egypt for treatment: “We are waiting for the wounded Palestinians to cross. They are not being allowed to cross.” Asked who was to blame, he referred to Gaza by saying, “Ask the party in control on the ground in Gaza.”[27]
8) Allegation: Israel is purposely targeting civilians.
Fact: While Israel goes out of its way to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas actually places civilians in harm’s way and uses them as shields.Because Hamas is known to use civilian residences to hide their weapons, on Dec. 27, the Israeli military – before launching an attack on such storehouses - called thousands of civilians in Gaza on their cell phones and left Arabic-language messages urging them to leave homes being used for weapons storage.[28]
On Dec. 30, a reformist Iranian newspaper published a statement by a student organization that criticized Hamas for risking civilian lives, including children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals. The Iranian Culture Ministry shut down the newspaper after it printed the statements.[29]
Israel has publicly stated time and again that it regrets the loss of any civilian life and considers each one a tragedy. However, both Iran-backed Hamas and Iran-backed Hezbollah have a history of faking deaths and funerals.
For example, in Spring 2002, Palestinians were filmed as they attempted to stage a fake funeral as part of a gross exaggeration of the number of people killed in Jenin. The film shows Palestinians wrapping, then carrying a ‘corpse’ on a funeral pier; the ‘corpse’ falls off several times and gets back on – including in front of a large and surprised crowd.[30] Click here for video of faked funeral. Although some reports say a quarter of the deaths during “Operation Cast Lead” have been civilians, Palestinian terrorists’ history of deceptions and false claims require reporters to work to verify such information.
During Israel’s defensive war against Hezbollah two years ago, the phenomenon was so common that it became known as “Hezbollywood.”[31] One of the best-known instances was when a man purporting to be a rescue worker at the site of a bombed village appeared in various photos in the international media, repeatedly displaying the same child’s dead body at different times – and in different poses – throughout the day. The man, identified as Salam Daher, wore a green helmet in all of the photos, earning himself the nickname “green helmet guy.” Daher was also found to have directed a camera shooting the scene.[32]
For experts available to comment on these and similar deceptions, please contact:
Richard Landes: e-mail: [email protected]
Philippe Karsenty: e-mail: [email protected]
According to the Jerusalem Post of Feb. 16, the IDF has finally come out with its analysis of the casualties in Gaza, claiming the world has been duped by Hamas’s civilian casualty figures.
Basing the IDF’s analysis on the official Palestinian death toll of 1,338, the Gaza Coordination and Liason Administration (CLA) has now identified more than 1,200 of the Palestinian fatalities. Its 200-page report lists their names, their official Palestinian Authority identity numbers, the circumstances in which they were killed and, where appropriate, the terrorist group with which they were affiliated.
The CLA said 580 of these 1,200 had been conclusively "incriminated" as members of Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Another 300 of the 1,200 - women, children aged 15 and younger and men over the age of 65 - had been categorized as noncombatants, the CLA said. Counted among the women, however, were female terrorists, including at least two women who tried to blow themselves up.
9) Allegation: Israel has cut off electricity to Gaza. Fact: In the past, Hamas officials have committed deceptions such as pulling dark curtains in mid-day while holding a meeting to make it look as though they were being forced to work by candlelight – a sham exposed by journalists who showed that it was actually daylight outside at the time.[33]
The ruse was carried out with the complicity of some Arab satellite TV stations. More recent such deceptions have come to light as recently as November 2008, when Palestinian Authority officials said Hamas staged new blackouts to try to get sympathy from the international community and provoke civilian violence against the Palestinian Authority and Israel.[34]
Further, terrorists in Gaza have fired rockets at – and hit - the power station in the Israeli city of Ashkelon that provides Gaza the majority of its electricity.[35] The terrorists also have fired on Israeli workers at a depot that provides fuel to Gaza and a suicide bomber destroyed lines providing electricity from Israel into Gaza. [36] "There's no shortage of fuel in the Gaza Strip and the Electricity Company is continuing to function normally," a PA official said in November. "Our people in the Gaza Strip have told us that the blackouts are all staged as part of the Hamas propaganda…There's enough fuel in the Gaza Strip,” he said. "Even when Israel reduces the fuel supplies, Hamas continues to smuggle tens of thousands of liters through the underground tunnels."[37]
Today Israel continues to provide electricity to Gaza. However, due to war-time situations, some people are without power. If Palestinians had not sent thousands rockets into Israel over the last eight years, such a wartime situation would not exist. The blame for the power-outages is with Hamas which refused to renew a ceasefire with Israel and instead shot more than 400 rockets towards Israeli civilians right before Israel's defensive actions began. [38]
10) Allegation: Palestinian journalists are unbiased and show what’s ‘really’ happening in Gaza.
Fact: Some Palestinian journalists are manipulating and exploiting unintended victims of the Israeli strikes.
Said one Palestinian journalist, members of the Palestinian media are ‘directing’ civilians to cry and telling them what to say in interviews: "A mother of one of the martyrs stood by the door of the intensive care unit while crying... relatives and those around her were telling her what she should say to the television cameras: 'Say your son [before he died] prayed and went out.' Another tells her: 'Curse the Arab leaders'... The journalists [in the hospitals] are going overboard in their insensitivity and taking advantage of the [difficult] moments, with the explanation that they are showing this to the world. One cameraman told a mourning mother: 'Hit your face, cry, do some action.'"[39]
11) Allegation: It is Israel that is responsible for all of the deaths in Gaza.
Fact: Hamas has killed many members of the rival Fatah group and included the body count in the list of casualties.
According to the independent Arab news agency, Ma'an, as of Feb. 2, 181 members of Fatah had been killed, shot, or maimed by Hamas. The news agency published a list of 11 Fatah members who were executed, 58 people who had been shot in the feet or legs, and 112 who had had their legs broken.
Footnotes:
[1] The Israel Project phone conversation with Jacob Dallal, Jan. 11, 2009.
[2] “Humanitarian aid to Gaza following period of calm,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 6, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Humanitarian_aid_to_Gaza_following_6_month_calm.htm
[3] Bengali, Shashank, “Israeli troops kill U.N. truck driver at Gaza crossing,” Kansas City Star, Jan. 8, 2009, http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/970718.html
[4] COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, Ministry of Defense, “Cessation of IDF activities in Gaza to facilitate humanitarian activities,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 7, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Cessation_IDF_activities_Gaza_humanitarian_activities_7-Jan-2009.htm
[5] Witte, Griff, and Lynch, Colum, “As U.S. abstains, U.N. Security Council calls for cease-fire,” The New York Times, Jan. 9, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/08/ST2009010800048.html?sid=ST2009010800048&s_pos=list
[6] “Main terrorist attacks carried out at Gaza Strip crossings,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 4, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terror+Groups/Main+terrorist+attacks+carried+out+at+Gaza+Strip+crossings+16-Jan-2005.htm
[7] Lappin, Yaakov and Jpost staff, “Rocket hits Ashdod kindergarten,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 11, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424913241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[8] IDF Spokesperson’s Unit Press Release, Jan. 11, 2009
[9] “UN calls for war crimes probe into IDF shelling of civilian-occupied building in Gaza,” Haaretz, Jan. 10, 2009, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054217.html
[10] Ibid.
[11] Erlanger, Steve, “A Gaza war full of traps and trickery,” The New York Times, Jan. 10, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/world/middleeast/11hamas.html?_r=1&ref=world
[12] “Israel's operation against Hamas in Gaza - Update Jan 10,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 10, 2009.
[13] Bronner, Ethan, and Cowell, Alan, “Red Cross orders Gaza restrictions,” The International Herald Tribune, Jan. 9, 2009, http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/09/africa/09mideast-cnd10h30.php
[14] Martin, Patrick, "Account of Israeli attack doesn't hold up to scrutiny," Globeandmail.com, Jan. 29, 2008.
[15]“Vie dans la bande de Gaza,” France 2, Dec. 29, http://jt.france2.fr/20h/ [to see clip: click on http://jt.france2.fr/20h/; click on “Lundi 29” – below the small screen; to the right of the new screen, click “Vie dans la bande de Gaza”]
[16] “12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals for assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 31, 2008
[17] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, December 2008
[18] “12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals for assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 31, 2008
[19] Ibid.
[20] Lappin, Yaakov and Jpost staff, “Rocket hits Ashdod kindergarten,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 11, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424913241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[21] Martin, Patrick, “Israel shoots down ceasefire proposal,” Globeandmail.com, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081230.wgaza_main31/BNStory/International/home; “FACTBOX-Countries pledge aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Reuters, Dec. 31, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV538165; “Israel increases humanitarian effort to the Gaza Strip,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Israel_increases_humanitarian_effort_Gaza_Strip_30-Dec-2008.htm
[22] “FACTBOX-Countries pledge aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Reuters, Dec. 31, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV538165; “Israel increases humanitarian effort to the Gaza Strip,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Israel_increases_humanitarian_effort_Gaza_Strip_30-Dec-2008.htm
[23] "Humanitarian aid to Gaza following the 6-month calm," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 1, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Hamas+war+against+Israel/Humanitarian_aid_to_Gaza_following_6_month_calm.htm
[24] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, December 2008
[25] “Israeli Humanitarian Aid to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 31, 2008, Communicated by the Ministry of Defense - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
[26] Shahine, Alaa, "Egypt: Hamas denying Gaza wounded treatment in Egypt,“ Reuters, Dec. 28, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4BR0QP20081228
[27] Ibid.
[28] Barzak, Ibrahim and Teibel, Amy, “Israeli assault on Hamas kills more than 200,” Associated Press, Dec. 27, 2008. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95BFQCG0
[29] Al-Ayyam, Jan. 1, 2009 via Palestinian Media Watch: Gaza Update 8, Jan. 1, 2009, “Hamas hiding forces in nurseries and hospitals.”
[30] Lerner, Aaron, “Israel screens fake Palestinian funeral for reporters,” Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA), May 2, 2002, http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=11784
[31] Lyons, Andrew Ford, “Digitally Erasing a Massacre: Why Hezbollywood Was Born,” Counterpunch, Aug. 15, 2006, http://www.counterpunch.org/lyons08152006.html
[32] Kalb, Marvin and Saivetz, Carol, “THE ISRAELI-HEZBOLLAH WAR OF 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict,” research paper prepared at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, for presentation at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar on Feb. 18, 2007, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2007/0217islamic%20world/2007islamforum_israel%20hezb%20war.pdf; "'Green Helmet Man' accused of staging pix," Fox News Channel, Aug. 15, 2006
[33] Soltis, Andy, “Hamas Dim Bulbs in Fake-Blackout Ruse,” The New York Post, Jan. 30, 2008, http://www.nypost.com/seven/01302008/news/worldnews/it_was_obvious_that_the_whole_thing_was__688294.htm
[34] Abu Toameh, Khaled, “PA: ‘Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts,’ The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404771503&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[35] Coughlin, Con, “Gazans should make the most of their liberation – it won’t last,” The Daily Telegraph, Jan. 25, 2008
[36] “Terror in Gaza: 12 months since the Hamas takeover,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 16, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Terror+in+Gaza-+Two+months+since+the+Hamas+takeover+16-Aug-2007.htm
[37]Abu Toameh, Khaled, “PA: ‘Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts,’ The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404771503&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[38] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Israel Ministry of Defense, Dec. 2008.
[39] "A Palestinian girl whose family members were killed yesterday in Gaza," Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin, Dec. 2008, http://www.pmw.org.il/Bulletins_Dec2008.htm#b2912083
The Israel Project is an international non-profit, nonpartisan organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government agency and does not rate or endorse candidates.
"While there is real suffering in Gaza, it is important to sort fact from fiction and understand that Hamas is responsible for this sad situation," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project. "The important thing now is to defeat terror so that there can be a two-state solution and lasting peace. Both sides need a better future."
1) Allegation: Israel killed a United Nations humanitarian worker.
Fact: According to IDF spokesman Jacob Dallal, “We are certain that the IDF did not kill the UN driver. Moreover, we strongly suspect it was Hamas." [1]
Israel does not target humanitarian workers on humanitarian missions. Indeed, Israel has ensured that 705 truckloads and 15,000 tons humanitarian aid, in addition to 10 ambulances, were transported through Israeli crossings into Gaza since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead. [2]
Humanitarian relief agencies are contracting Palestinians inside Gaza to transport aid shipments. United Nation World Food Program Representative Barbara Conte said that aid workers are not the target of the Israel Defense Force’s military operation. [3]
Israel maintains a three-hour cease-fire everyday in order to facilitate the safety of aid workers and transport drivers traveling in- and- out of Gaza. [4] IDF Spokesman Ilan Tal states “Our intention is to allow for any needed humanitarian aid to come in and to coordinate with all the international organizations." [5]
On the other hand, Iran-backed Palestinian terrorists repeatedly utilize the humanitarian aid and fuel depot crossings to launch attacks against Israeli civilians. The most recent attack at a crossing was on June 4, 2008 at the Nahal Oz fuel crossing, critically wounding a Palestinian worker [6] For a complete list of recent Palestinian terrorist attacks at humanitarian crossings. Just today, however, while Israel stopped its military actions in Gaza for a humanitarian break, Hamas continued to shoot rockets aimed at Israeli civilians. [7]
2) Allegation: Israel ordered more than 100 Palestinian civilians into a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood on Sunday Jan. 4, and then intentionally shelled the building killing more than 30 people.
Fact: According to The IDF spokesman Jacob Dallal, "After checking allegations, we are unaware of soldiers instructing people to enter any specific building in the Zeitoun neighborhood and are also unaware of any targeted attack in Zeitoun on Jan. 5." [8]
IDF Spokesperson Maj. Avital Leibovich said today, "There have been inquiries and as far as we can tell, it did not happen."[9] In addition, IDF Spokesman, Maj. Jacob Dallal, said an investigation of the UN allegations showed the building was not deliberately targeted.[10]
Palestinian terrorists and even the police in Gaza are fighting in civilian clothing, making it difficult to reduce civilian causalities. In addition, Hamas terrorists have planted explosives in civilian residence buildings so that in the event of IDF fire, the entire structure will explode. [11]
According to Intelligence Corps Officer-in-Chief, Brigadier General Yuval Halmish, Hamas is preventing Palestinian civilians from receiving IDF leaflets asking Gaza residents to leave evacuate their homes. “They [Hamas] booby-trapped the entrances of civilian houses with explosives put close to them; the objective is of course to hit our forces but a local explosion also damages the houses of the civilians and causes great damage, and likely killing civilians.” [12]
3) Allegation: A Red Cross convoy was fired upon by Israeli troops south of Gaza city on Thursday, Jan. 8.
Fact: IDF Spokesperson Maj. Avital Leibovich said that the army learned of the Red Cross allegations in a media report, and that the Red Cross had not yet presented the evidence to the army. Leibovich also said “We do our utmost to avoid hitting civilians, and many times we don't fire because we see civilians nearby…We are holding meetings with U.N. officials to try to work out a mechanism so that their work can go forward.” [13]
4) Allegation: Israel shelled a UN school in Jabalia without reason killing more than 40 people.
Fact: Patrick Martin from Canada’s Globe and Mail on Jan 29th, reporting from Jabalya, claims the UNWRA story is false. Stories of one or more shells landing inside the schoolyard were inaccurate. Physical evidence and interviews with several eyewitnesses, including a teacher who was in the schoolyard at the time of the shelling, make it clear: While a few people were injured from shrapnel landing inside the white-and-blue-walled UNRWA compound, no one in the compound was killed. The 43 people who died in the incident were all outside, on the street, where all three mortar shells landed. [14]
Watch this video of Alarabiya-TV reporter Hannan al-Masri caught unaware as she learns that a Hamas missle has just been fired from the building she lives in.
5) Allegation: There’s no food in Gaza and people are starving. News reports, including one produced by TV station France 2 on Dec. 29, showed a Gaza resident in a food store saying: “Apparently, there is nothing, as you can see. There are no natural products for the kids. There is no milk. There is nothing here.”[15]
Fact: Many warehouses in Gaza are filled to capacity, according to international aid groups.
In the same France 2 TV clip referenced above, upon closer inspection, shelves filled with food can be seen in the reflection of a refrigerated door in the store. To see clip: click on http://jt.france2.fr/20h/; click on “Lundi 29” – below the small screen; to the right of the new screen, click “Vie dans la bande de Gaza” The World Food Program informed Israel that it would cease shipment of food to Gaza because the warehouses there are at full capacity, with enough food to last two weeks.[16]
During a one-day period alone – Dec. 31– Israel facilitated the transport of 29 truckloads of food, including 15 truckloads of flour, into Gaza.[17] And even as Hamas was firing rockets and mortars during Israel during the ceasefire, Israel facilitated the delivery of 2,500 tons (delivered on 93 trucks) of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication through the Kerem Shalom cargo terminal.[18]
Since the beginning of the operation, about 6,500 tons of aid have been transferred into Gaza at the request of the international organizations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments. Preparations are underway to facilitate further shipments.[19]
Still, despite the fact that Israel is delivering food every day there are distribution issues with some food products due to the war-time situation. Indeed, when Israel stopped fighting for a three hour humanitarian break, Hamas kept shooting rockets into Israel and attacking Israelis. [20]
There also seems to be evidence that Hamas is stealing the humanitarian aid bound for the Gazan population at large and reselling it at outrageous prices. As more than 800 trucks totaling over 25,000 tons of aid enter Gaza, there are repeated and horrifying reports that Hamas terrorists have seized aid, distributing it to its own members and supporters, and selling what is left to the impoverished civilians. The UN corroborated this report and on Friday, 6 February UNRWA suspending its humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip after Hamas stole supplies the United Nations organization had transferred to the Palestinian territory for a second time. Clearly, Hamas is using the Palestinian population in Gaza "cruelly and cynically" and is solely responsible for hardship there.
On Sunday (11 Jan.), in a Hamas internet forum, surfers complained about the confiscations of flour donations in Dir-al'Balech by Hamas elements. There is also a description of how Hamas transfers the donations to its own warehouses, and distributes them to only two bakeries in the city – Albana Bakery and Al-Tzalah Union Bakery – both of which belong to Hamas.
6) Allegation: Gaza has no medical and other aid supplies to help the injured.
Fact: The daily ‘humanitarian corridor' has been extended from three to four hours per day. Since the beginning of the operation a total of 1,136 trucks of produce have entered the Gaza Strip with over 26,000 tons of goods. In addition, fuel trucks and medical personnel have entered Gaza
The deliveries include basic food commodities, medication, medical supplies and blood units. Another 106 truckloads of humanitarian aid are expected to arrive in Gaza on Jan. 31.[21] [22]
The crossings to Gaza are open for the transfer of humanitarian aid from all international organizations, in full cooperation with the Israeli authorities and without restriction.[23] In a one-day period – Dec. 31 – Israel enabled the transport of 9 truckloads of medicine and medical supplies, along with 10 ambulances, into Gaza.[24]
Israel is continuing to expand the humanitarian effort to the best of its ability. Live films of the entrance of the aid trucks into the Gaza Strip can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhsjpTWsMh4
Among the priorities of the humanitarian coordination led by Israel in Gaza
- the transfer of goods into Gaza
- the repairs of electrical grid and sewage systems
- evacuation of wounded
- coordination of medical assistance and evacuation of foreign and dual nationals.
- The electrical supply is also being rehabilitated, the grid has been repaired and electricity is at 74% capacity up from 40% earlier in the operation. Rehabilitation of the power network is a direct result of the coordination between the IDF, the Palestinian Energy Authority and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
7) Allegation: Israel is refusing to allow injured Gazans into Israeli and Egyptian hospitals for treatment.
Fact: Israel has allowed a number of Palestinians into Israel for medical treatment they couldn’t receive in Gaza.
On Dec. 31, for example, 12 Palestinians accessed Israel for medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. Two of those evacuated were injured children; the remaining were chronically sick people, and their escorts, who were allowed into Israel for treatment not available in Gaza.[25]
Further, Hamas – in an effort to exploit the suffering of innocent civilians - has refused to allow injured Palestinians to leave Gaza to go to Egypt for treatment.[26] Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Gheit said earlier this week that Hamas was not allowing wounded Palestinians to cross the border into Egypt for treatment: “We are waiting for the wounded Palestinians to cross. They are not being allowed to cross.” Asked who was to blame, he referred to Gaza by saying, “Ask the party in control on the ground in Gaza.”[27]
8) Allegation: Israel is purposely targeting civilians.
Fact: While Israel goes out of its way to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas actually places civilians in harm’s way and uses them as shields.Because Hamas is known to use civilian residences to hide their weapons, on Dec. 27, the Israeli military – before launching an attack on such storehouses - called thousands of civilians in Gaza on their cell phones and left Arabic-language messages urging them to leave homes being used for weapons storage.[28]
On Dec. 30, a reformist Iranian newspaper published a statement by a student organization that criticized Hamas for risking civilian lives, including children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals. The Iranian Culture Ministry shut down the newspaper after it printed the statements.[29]
Israel has publicly stated time and again that it regrets the loss of any civilian life and considers each one a tragedy. However, both Iran-backed Hamas and Iran-backed Hezbollah have a history of faking deaths and funerals.
For example, in Spring 2002, Palestinians were filmed as they attempted to stage a fake funeral as part of a gross exaggeration of the number of people killed in Jenin. The film shows Palestinians wrapping, then carrying a ‘corpse’ on a funeral pier; the ‘corpse’ falls off several times and gets back on – including in front of a large and surprised crowd.[30] Click here for video of faked funeral. Although some reports say a quarter of the deaths during “Operation Cast Lead” have been civilians, Palestinian terrorists’ history of deceptions and false claims require reporters to work to verify such information.
During Israel’s defensive war against Hezbollah two years ago, the phenomenon was so common that it became known as “Hezbollywood.”[31] One of the best-known instances was when a man purporting to be a rescue worker at the site of a bombed village appeared in various photos in the international media, repeatedly displaying the same child’s dead body at different times – and in different poses – throughout the day. The man, identified as Salam Daher, wore a green helmet in all of the photos, earning himself the nickname “green helmet guy.” Daher was also found to have directed a camera shooting the scene.[32]
For experts available to comment on these and similar deceptions, please contact:
Richard Landes: e-mail: [email protected]
Philippe Karsenty: e-mail: [email protected]
According to the Jerusalem Post of Feb. 16, the IDF has finally come out with its analysis of the casualties in Gaza, claiming the world has been duped by Hamas’s civilian casualty figures.
Basing the IDF’s analysis on the official Palestinian death toll of 1,338, the Gaza Coordination and Liason Administration (CLA) has now identified more than 1,200 of the Palestinian fatalities. Its 200-page report lists their names, their official Palestinian Authority identity numbers, the circumstances in which they were killed and, where appropriate, the terrorist group with which they were affiliated.
The CLA said 580 of these 1,200 had been conclusively "incriminated" as members of Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Another 300 of the 1,200 - women, children aged 15 and younger and men over the age of 65 - had been categorized as noncombatants, the CLA said. Counted among the women, however, were female terrorists, including at least two women who tried to blow themselves up.
9) Allegation: Israel has cut off electricity to Gaza. Fact: In the past, Hamas officials have committed deceptions such as pulling dark curtains in mid-day while holding a meeting to make it look as though they were being forced to work by candlelight – a sham exposed by journalists who showed that it was actually daylight outside at the time.[33]
The ruse was carried out with the complicity of some Arab satellite TV stations. More recent such deceptions have come to light as recently as November 2008, when Palestinian Authority officials said Hamas staged new blackouts to try to get sympathy from the international community and provoke civilian violence against the Palestinian Authority and Israel.[34]
Further, terrorists in Gaza have fired rockets at – and hit - the power station in the Israeli city of Ashkelon that provides Gaza the majority of its electricity.[35] The terrorists also have fired on Israeli workers at a depot that provides fuel to Gaza and a suicide bomber destroyed lines providing electricity from Israel into Gaza. [36] "There's no shortage of fuel in the Gaza Strip and the Electricity Company is continuing to function normally," a PA official said in November. "Our people in the Gaza Strip have told us that the blackouts are all staged as part of the Hamas propaganda…There's enough fuel in the Gaza Strip,” he said. "Even when Israel reduces the fuel supplies, Hamas continues to smuggle tens of thousands of liters through the underground tunnels."[37]
Today Israel continues to provide electricity to Gaza. However, due to war-time situations, some people are without power. If Palestinians had not sent thousands rockets into Israel over the last eight years, such a wartime situation would not exist. The blame for the power-outages is with Hamas which refused to renew a ceasefire with Israel and instead shot more than 400 rockets towards Israeli civilians right before Israel's defensive actions began. [38]
10) Allegation: Palestinian journalists are unbiased and show what’s ‘really’ happening in Gaza.
Fact: Some Palestinian journalists are manipulating and exploiting unintended victims of the Israeli strikes.
Said one Palestinian journalist, members of the Palestinian media are ‘directing’ civilians to cry and telling them what to say in interviews: "A mother of one of the martyrs stood by the door of the intensive care unit while crying... relatives and those around her were telling her what she should say to the television cameras: 'Say your son [before he died] prayed and went out.' Another tells her: 'Curse the Arab leaders'... The journalists [in the hospitals] are going overboard in their insensitivity and taking advantage of the [difficult] moments, with the explanation that they are showing this to the world. One cameraman told a mourning mother: 'Hit your face, cry, do some action.'"[39]
11) Allegation: It is Israel that is responsible for all of the deaths in Gaza.
Fact: Hamas has killed many members of the rival Fatah group and included the body count in the list of casualties.
According to the independent Arab news agency, Ma'an, as of Feb. 2, 181 members of Fatah had been killed, shot, or maimed by Hamas. The news agency published a list of 11 Fatah members who were executed, 58 people who had been shot in the feet or legs, and 112 who had had their legs broken.
Footnotes:
[1] The Israel Project phone conversation with Jacob Dallal, Jan. 11, 2009.
[2] “Humanitarian aid to Gaza following period of calm,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 6, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Humanitarian_aid_to_Gaza_following_6_month_calm.htm
[3] Bengali, Shashank, “Israeli troops kill U.N. truck driver at Gaza crossing,” Kansas City Star, Jan. 8, 2009, http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/970718.html
[4] COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, Ministry of Defense, “Cessation of IDF activities in Gaza to facilitate humanitarian activities,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 7, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Cessation_IDF_activities_Gaza_humanitarian_activities_7-Jan-2009.htm
[5] Witte, Griff, and Lynch, Colum, “As U.S. abstains, U.N. Security Council calls for cease-fire,” The New York Times, Jan. 9, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/08/ST2009010800048.html?sid=ST2009010800048&s_pos=list
[6] “Main terrorist attacks carried out at Gaza Strip crossings,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 4, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terror+Groups/Main+terrorist+attacks+carried+out+at+Gaza+Strip+crossings+16-Jan-2005.htm
[7] Lappin, Yaakov and Jpost staff, “Rocket hits Ashdod kindergarten,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 11, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424913241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[8] IDF Spokesperson’s Unit Press Release, Jan. 11, 2009
[9] “UN calls for war crimes probe into IDF shelling of civilian-occupied building in Gaza,” Haaretz, Jan. 10, 2009, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054217.html
[10] Ibid.
[11] Erlanger, Steve, “A Gaza war full of traps and trickery,” The New York Times, Jan. 10, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/world/middleeast/11hamas.html?_r=1&ref=world
[12] “Israel's operation against Hamas in Gaza - Update Jan 10,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 10, 2009.
[13] Bronner, Ethan, and Cowell, Alan, “Red Cross orders Gaza restrictions,” The International Herald Tribune, Jan. 9, 2009, http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/09/africa/09mideast-cnd10h30.php
[14] Martin, Patrick, "Account of Israeli attack doesn't hold up to scrutiny," Globeandmail.com, Jan. 29, 2008.
[15]“Vie dans la bande de Gaza,” France 2, Dec. 29, http://jt.france2.fr/20h/ [to see clip: click on http://jt.france2.fr/20h/; click on “Lundi 29” – below the small screen; to the right of the new screen, click “Vie dans la bande de Gaza”]
[16] “12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals for assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 31, 2008
[17] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, December 2008
[18] “12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals for assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 31, 2008
[19] Ibid.
[20] Lappin, Yaakov and Jpost staff, “Rocket hits Ashdod kindergarten,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 11, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424913241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[21] Martin, Patrick, “Israel shoots down ceasefire proposal,” Globeandmail.com, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081230.wgaza_main31/BNStory/International/home; “FACTBOX-Countries pledge aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Reuters, Dec. 31, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV538165; “Israel increases humanitarian effort to the Gaza Strip,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Israel_increases_humanitarian_effort_Gaza_Strip_30-Dec-2008.htm
[22] “FACTBOX-Countries pledge aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Reuters, Dec. 31, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV538165; “Israel increases humanitarian effort to the Gaza Strip,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Israel_increases_humanitarian_effort_Gaza_Strip_30-Dec-2008.htm
[23] "Humanitarian aid to Gaza following the 6-month calm," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 1, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Hamas+war+against+Israel/Humanitarian_aid_to_Gaza_following_6_month_calm.htm
[24] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, December 2008
[25] “Israeli Humanitarian Aid to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 31, 2008, Communicated by the Ministry of Defense - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
[26] Shahine, Alaa, "Egypt: Hamas denying Gaza wounded treatment in Egypt,“ Reuters, Dec. 28, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4BR0QP20081228
[27] Ibid.
[28] Barzak, Ibrahim and Teibel, Amy, “Israeli assault on Hamas kills more than 200,” Associated Press, Dec. 27, 2008. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95BFQCG0
[29] Al-Ayyam, Jan. 1, 2009 via Palestinian Media Watch: Gaza Update 8, Jan. 1, 2009, “Hamas hiding forces in nurseries and hospitals.”
[30] Lerner, Aaron, “Israel screens fake Palestinian funeral for reporters,” Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA), May 2, 2002, http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=11784
[31] Lyons, Andrew Ford, “Digitally Erasing a Massacre: Why Hezbollywood Was Born,” Counterpunch, Aug. 15, 2006, http://www.counterpunch.org/lyons08152006.html
[32] Kalb, Marvin and Saivetz, Carol, “THE ISRAELI-HEZBOLLAH WAR OF 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict,” research paper prepared at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, for presentation at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar on Feb. 18, 2007, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2007/0217islamic%20world/2007islamforum_israel%20hezb%20war.pdf; "'Green Helmet Man' accused of staging pix," Fox News Channel, Aug. 15, 2006
[33] Soltis, Andy, “Hamas Dim Bulbs in Fake-Blackout Ruse,” The New York Post, Jan. 30, 2008, http://www.nypost.com/seven/01302008/news/worldnews/it_was_obvious_that_the_whole_thing_was__688294.htm
[34] Abu Toameh, Khaled, “PA: ‘Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts,’ The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404771503&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[35] Coughlin, Con, “Gazans should make the most of their liberation – it won’t last,” The Daily Telegraph, Jan. 25, 2008
[36] “Terror in Gaza: 12 months since the Hamas takeover,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 16, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Terror+in+Gaza-+Two+months+since+the+Hamas+takeover+16-Aug-2007.htm
[37]Abu Toameh, Khaled, “PA: ‘Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts,’ The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404771503&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[38] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Israel Ministry of Defense, Dec. 2008.
[39] "A Palestinian girl whose family members were killed yesterday in Gaza," Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin, Dec. 2008, http://www.pmw.org.il/Bulletins_Dec2008.htm#b2912083
The Israel Project is an international non-profit, nonpartisan organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government agency and does not rate or endorse candidates.
