The scenes of events in the south were extremely powerful. Harsh scenes of Israelis left without protection are brutally taken by the murderers: old women, toddlers, entire families. Photographs reminiscent of the scenes of the Holocaust.
Al Jazeera accidentally broadcast Hamas terrorists at the Indonesian hospital brandishing weapons
Nevertheless, the coverage on international Arab networks is radically different. There they present the massacre as a "military victory," with political and national justification for the barbaric tragedy that was committed. This is a bitter and incomprehensible truth. Therefore, it is also imperative to expose this to the Israeli public, so that we can respond effectively, in the struggle for Israel's righteousness.
As someone who is actively interviewed in the Arab media, I will try to present the arguments I faced (and still face these days) to the readership: From the moment the attack began on October 7, the Arabic media compared it to another October: the Yom Kippur War. With the similarity to the date, and the element of surprise, the offensive is described as a legitimate military campaign.
Just as Egyptian soldiers crossed the canal and took Israeli soldiers prisoner, so did Hamas murderers.
Military analysts glorify the operation from an operational perspective, presenting it as professional military planning according to the rules of war, compared to 1973. It is worth paying attention to the terminology when it comes to settlements in the south. The communities in the envelope, located outside the Gaza Strip, are presented as "settlements" and the residents as occupying "settlers."
The massacre is presented as a "military victory." Hamas terrorists break into communities, photo: uncredited
When the events began to be exposed in the Arab media, positions were voiced granting legitimacy to the tragic event. The attack was described as "self-defense" in the face of Israeli aggression. Among opinion leaders, there was no moral criticism of what was happening: deliberate shooting, kidnapping of children, and degradation of bodies. The argument that was made tried to balance this by criticizing Israel and blackening Jewish morality. Israel itself, it is claimed, in the various rounds, has already bombed civilians.
From the third day, it seemed that the intensity of the incident had been forgotten in the Arab media. The media debate began to deal intensively with Israel's actions, presenting them as a humanitarian crime against the residents of Gaza. The argument I heard on the broadcasts, again and again, was that we had already dealt with and discussed the archaic issue, now we are covering the significant events in the present tense – Israel's crimes.
There was no moral criticism of child abduction. Emilia Aloni, who was kidnapped, photo: uncredited
What about the political arena? The scenes of the demonstrators in the West were evidence from the broadcasters' point of view that the truth is with the Palestinian side. The fact that a demographic majority protests against Israel, along with international support from UN institutions, was a sharp argument that the Palestinians were the absolutely just side in the battle. The expansion of ground fighting in the heart of Gaza leads to a discourse in the Arabic news studios that makes light of the IDF's achievements. Does Israel even have the military capability to contend on several fronts, alongside political pressure and damage to the functioning of the civilian economy?
What can be argued accordingly?
First, it must be argued that there is no room for comparison with the Yom Kippur War: a war in which armies fought against armies and unarmed against infants and old women. What about territorial disputes? A dispute over Samaria and Judea is legitimate (even within Israeli society), but this dispute does not justify pointing weapons at unarmed families.
There is no room for comparison with the Yom Kippur War. Tank during the Yom Kippur War, photo: Israel State Archives
Moreover, historically, Israel withdrew from Gaza and provided Qatari equipment and money, and opened the crossings for the residents of Gaza, so the argument cannot be related to the question of land. Regarding the global demonstrations and support from UN institutions, the fact that there is a demographic majority emanating from over fifty Muslim countries does not indicate justice. An international majority does not necessarily indicate that you are right. Jews were slaughtered in death camps during World War II, as part of the Final Solution policy, and even then most of the world was silent in the face of the systematic extermination of the Jewish people.
A legal attack - not just a defensive response. In every broadcast I raise the argument that we are the ones who will be held accountable from a legal and legal perspective for war crimes against civilians in the envelope and for the use of civilians in Gaza as human shields. Years later, the Israeli army is massively deployed in the heart of the Gaza Strip. A significant number of Hamas commanders were eliminated, and IDF soldiers captured prominent symbols of Hamas rule. And the shooting? There is a significant landing at the level of launches, so the situation has turned to the detriment of the Palestinians: from a strip without any Israeli presence, it has become a strip with more territorial, intelligence and military control on the part of IDF forces.
A significant number of Hamas commanders were eliminated. Head of the anti-tank division in the central camps that was eliminated, photo: IDF Spokesperson
We must also make an argument from an Arab perspective – your interest, no less than ours. Hamas represents the Persian occupation. Dozens of violent militias that have already destroyed Arab capitals and wreaked havoc in the Arab world, on Tehran's orders. Is it in the interest of the Gulf states to strengthen the arms of Iran (the Houthis in Yemen) that threaten the armies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE? Does the Land of the Cedars, the Lebanese Republic, want to be an Iranian satellite?, Have Fatah members forgotten who hung them on pillars and threw them from rooftops?
This chaos, led by Iran, could occur and intensify if the Hamas satellite, God forbid, wins the battle.
The writer is a lecturer on Arabic and the Middle East and a guest commentator in international Arabic media.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us