For four to six hours per day, for almost a week, Israel has held its fire along a humanitarian corridor that Gazans can use to evacuate from northern to southern Gaza. Despite Hamas’ efforts, tens of thousands have done so.
Now, the IDF will enhance the utility of the humanitarian corridor by implementing an additional four-hour pause each day in its fighting in a different northern Gaza neighborhood. A public announcement of the sector chosen for the pause will be made three hours before the IDF begins its pause. This is to prevent Hamas from exploiting the cessation of offensive operations to enhance its military operations. The goal here is to give civilians further opportunity to move south.
And yet, the vilification of Israel continues. Rather than receiving praise for taking a humanitarian step that no military in my memory has ever done, the international community keeps up its drumbeat of damnation. So does Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, who made clear in a speech today that his short-term goals are two—end the war in Gaza and “enable Hamas to triumph.” So does much of the international press. So do hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. So do so many on college campuses. I know where Nasrallah’s hatred comes from. Hamas and Iran’s too. But what about the rest? Is it just antisemitism as vile as that is? Or is there something more potentially at play that is twisting minds?
Today, Microsoft vice chair and president informed us of something interesting—Russia has been spreading “’disinformation’ about the situation in the Middle East.” What a surprise. Putin owes Iran for weapons it is supplying to Russia for the war with Ukraine. But couple that news with the report from Cyabra, an Israel-based social threat intelligence company, that it analyzed 162,000 profiles that engaged in conversation about Hamas’ attack on Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, and Tik Tok. Of them, more than 40,000 were fake and they collectively published 312,000 fake posts and comments! That’s a lot of fake news out there to warp minds.
And then of course, there is the issue of AI. For example, highlighted by the Institute for National Security Studies, in recent weeks pro-Palestinian individuals posted the picture of a baby in the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaza. The image appeared on signs at anti-Israel demonstrations and even on the cover of a French newspaper. Except it was false, had been created by AI technology, and first appeared in February 2023—eight months before Hamas’ atrocities.
But it gets even worse on the ground.
A few days ago, Honest Reporting issued a startling report. The document identified four Gazan freelance photographers that were somehow serendipitously (yeah sure) on the scene when Hamas’ terrorists attacked on October 7 and then took pictures of the horror that ensued—while it was happening—that were published by CNN, the New York times, Reuters, and the AP. To my knowledge, none of them were wearing press credentials. So, how did they get there and why? Were they part of the media or part of Hamas’ plan to document what they were doing? All the news organizations denied prior knowledge of the attack and I believe them. But what were they doing publishing images taken by people amid such terror that so clearly were under the control of Hamas. What have they been doing contracting with them for years to publish there editorialized, or possibly staged, pictures? Is the profit motive for rushing to print so immense that morality no longer matters. It is really ok to contract with people on the scene that do nothing about the murder, rape, and mayhem they witness other than to document it, likely as part of Hamas’ plan? Or is there something more going on? I’ll let you be the judge of that.
But, in addition to all the moral and other questions what all this indicates to me is the difficulty of the information war that Israel now faces. Freelance photographers, in control of Hams if not in cahoots, take pictures designed to further whatever narrative Hamas wants. That narrative is augmented by AI and fake reporting. It is then published on respected news portals and then disseminated by tens of thousands of false social media portals directly into the minds of active and soon-to-be antisemitic fanatics along with those with such progressive leanings that they internalize the emotional images without reflection as to their veracity or the context.
Against that, stands the voice of reason, Israel’s public diplomacy units, and us.
This coming Tuesday is the Rally for Israel on the Mall. I will be there. I hope you will be there. Let’s together use our presence to demonstrate that the cause of Israel is just, the need to support Israel is vital, our numbers are great, and our resolve is strong. Antisemitism is on the march. We must stand up to it and defeat it.
Daily update: Israel at war Day 35-36 Nov. 10-11, 2023, 22:00 PM Israel time—Written by the Alma Research and Education Center staff.
Ten Minutes of Raw Footage from October 7.
Brazilian highway police, 2016. (photo credit: PRF Paraná / CC 2.0)
Mossad Helps Brazil Arrest Hezbollah-Linked Terrorists Planning Attack on Jews—Written by Zvika Klein for the Jerusalem Post—November 8, 2023
Israel’s Struggle with Hezbollah—A War Without End is now available in eBook and hardback format on Amazon and IngramSpark. This compelling narrative explores Hezbollah’s origins and cancerous growth, traces Israel’s response, and reveals Israel’s present readiness to meet Hezbollah’s challenge.
Cliff Sobin
Important Link—Alma Research and Education Center: Understanding the Security Challenges on Israel’s Northern Border