In the Middle East, war is conducted not only with bullets and missiles, but also with pictures. The latest are pictures of allegedly starving children in Gaza distributed by Hamas and its enablers with the intention of blaming Israel for delaying, even denying entry of food trucks into the strip.
Such pictures are gobbled up and distributed to the world without question by media that are always critical of Israel and hardly critical at all of forces that seek to destroy the Jewish state.
Perhaps no nation in history has cared about preserving human life more than modern Israel. It even treats its wounded enemies in Israeli hospitals. It releases hundreds of convicted terrorists in exchange for a handful of captured Israeli soldiers. It distributes leaflets and makes phone calls urging civilians to evacuate areas inhabited by Hamas terrorists before those areas are attacked. What other nation does that?
The New York Post reports “Col. Abdullah Halabi, from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, told reporters last week that around 1,000 truckloads of aid remain undelivered ‘due to a lack of cooperation from the international community and international organizations.’” Predictably, others are blaming Israel, which plays into Hamas’ hands.
The problem for Israel is that it has defeated Hamas, but Hamas won’t surrender. The terrorist organization is the main impediment to getting food to those who need it, but the seeds of today’s disaster began in 2005 when Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all 21 of its remaining settlements. It didn’t take a prophet to predict the vacuum would soon be filled by terrorists eager to use Gaza as a base for attacking Israel.
What followed was this:
— Gazans stupidly elected Hamas as their government. They are now reaping what they sowed.
— Hamas began preparing tunnels and placing missiles in civilian areas like schools and hospitals so when Israel responded to their attacks they would show video of civilians being killed or injured to international media.
— On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas murdered Israeli civilians at a music concert and took hostages, some of whom are dead, a few released and an estimated 50 remain in their hands.
— Hamas has stolen food and prevented supplies from reaching the needy.
Pictures and the narrative that accompanies them can be manipulated to serve the ends of Hamas. Two examples: A widely circulated photo shows a young boy held by what appears to be his mother. The child’s emaciated condition was initially portrayed as the result of starvation. Newsweek and The New York Post investigated and discovered that the boy, identified only as Muhammad, also suffers from conditions like cerebral palsy, hypoxemia and a genetic disorder. His malnutrition may be exacerbated by the war, but it does not appear to be the sole cause of his condition.
Another child, identified as Osama al-Raqab, suffers from cystic fibrosis and was receiving care in Italy after he was evacuated from Gaza. His picture was also widely distributed with starvation blamed as the cause. These cases don’t excuse the food shortages many are experiencing in Gaza, but they add perspective and should emphasize, if the media were doing their job, where the real blame lies.
Scenarios like this have been played out so often over decades you might think the media and governments that always seem to take the side of Israel’s enemies would have figured it out by now. It leads one to question whose side they are on. Given their statements, boycotts and slanted news coverage, it seems clear they are on the side of Israel’s enemies.
Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
