Hamas Deceives International Media Again

Another tragedy occurred in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday 26th May, leading to many deaths. But while those deaths are tragic, it is important their cause is reported accurately. International media organisations were again quick to publish Hamas’ claims, including the location being a designated safe zone, the Hamas Government Media Office saying,

"When displaced people sought refuge, they came under attack."

CNN’s report at 10:50 pm ET on Sunday quoted Hamas as describing the attack as a "massacre" and calling for immediate international intervention. This seems similar to the tragedy that occurred at Al-Ahli hospital in October 2023.

After careful review of Sunday’s air strike, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) say they targeted a closed area away from civilian tents, and the position of the strike was more than 1.5 km away from the Al Mawasi safe zone.

The IDF spokesman showed the place hit was about 180 metres from the location Hamas claimed for it, and that the two missiles used had small warheads. Those IDF missiles alone could not have ignited the large fire that followed, causing civilian deaths.

Confirmation of the type of missiles came on Wednesday from both CNN and The New York Times after they analysed video footage of debris from the scene of the attack, showing fragments that belonged to a GBU-39 bomb.

So, the initial reports of a large, intentional strike on displaced civilians were wrong. The IDF carried out a small, targeted strike with precision weapons, and it looks as if the large fire was caused by secondary explosions nearby.

One of the most troubling aspects of this is that a respected military analyst, Prof Michael Clarke, made major errors when discussing the tragedy on LBC. He claimed that the Israelis went after their two Hamas targets "not in a very precise strike," going on to say:

"These were big bombs, not precise missiles like the Brimstone missiles that can be used.
And so, I think that the Israelis again are going after people with big bombs
to make sure they get them."

Far too many people are ready to accuse the Israelis of appalling wrongdoing.