WhatsappNothing shuts down liars more effectively than winning.
No wonder support among Americans for Israel’s war against Hamas has dropped to an all-time low. It is now 32%. Nearly all coverage of the Gaza war in mainstream media focuses on problems falsely laid at Israel’s feet.
- BBC, July 29: “More than 60,000 people killed in Gaza during Israel offensive, Hamas-run health ministry says.”
- NPR, July 23: “Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says.”
- The Guardian, Aug. 3: “The mathematics of starvation: How Israel caused a famine in Gaza.”
According to these reports, Israel is responsible for deaths in a war Hamas started, for the starvation caused by Hamas’s theft of aid, for Palestinians killed by Hamas at aid distribution centers, and for Gazans who can’t get medical care because Hamas uses hospitals as military headquarters.
These deadly outcomes are the result of a well-plotted, consistent strategy by Hamas. Since Hamas cannot possibly defeat Israel with arms alone, its plan for winning—militarily and in international public opinion—is by facilitating the deaths of its own people. Tragically, and perversely, this strategy is working notoriously well.
Indeed, Israel and Jewish people worldwide are slandered in the media and public institutions. No surprise that antisemitic attacks have skyrocketed, sanctions and embargoes have been imposed on the Jewish state, and countries are now lining up to recognize “Palestine.”
Unfortunately, daily lies about Israel rapidly encircle the globe before truth can put its shoes on. Some good news: The U.S. government, and U.S. President Donald Trump himself, have stood strong, refuting lies, criticizing the hypocrites and punishing those who unfairly attack Israel.
Hamas’s “death cult” strategy: Sacrifice innocent Gazans while blaming Israel. Hamas leaders make no secret of their commitment to “martyring” Palestinians in the service of their mission. Former senior Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, slain by the Israelis, spoke of high civilian death tolls as a “necessary sacrifice” to pressure Israel. Sinwar, who was killed in battle with Israel, suggested martyrs’ deaths galvanize support for Palestinian statehood. He reportedly told Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh (who was later assassinated by Israel) after the deaths of Haniyeh’s sons and grandchildren in an airstrike, that such losses would “infuse life into the veins of this nation.”
Likewise, Hamas official Ghazi Hamad described Palestinians as a “nation of martyrs,” proud to sacrifice, indicating that civilian deaths are a strategic asset to garner global sympathy and condemn Israel. Senior Hamas figure Fathi Hammad boasted of the strategy, saying, “We have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly. We desire death like you desire life.”
In short, Hamas’s human-sacrifice strategy is cynical: The terrorists understand that by maximizing the deaths of Palestinian civilians, the liberal West will be aghast at the carnage and lay the blame on Israel, a global superpower.
The media falsely blame Israel for Hamas’s war. Hamas’s strategy of increasing Palestinian deaths is carried out in manifold forms, above all by placing terrorist infrastructure in and about civilian structures—mosques, schools, apartments, even hospitals. In fact, according to the Israel Defense Forces, more than 85% of medical facilities in Gaza are commandeered by Hamas and used in its terrorist operations.
But despite the IDF releasing countless high-quality videos and photographs showing Hamas embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, legacy media continue to dismiss these as “unverified.”
An opinion piece in The New York Times last month promised to explain “How Israel’s war became unjust.” Though Hamas’s savage attack launched the conflict, somehow Israel is the primary cause of Gaza’s suffering, while Hamas’s tactics of using human shields and stealing food aid receive scant mention.
MSNBC recently published an article accusing Israel of “deliberately dismantling” Gaza’s humanitarian system, citing 500-plus Palestinian deaths at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites—but omitting Hamas’s verified attacks on civilian aid seekers. Indeed, in June, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized CNN and the Associated Press for reporting unverified Hamas claims that Israeli forces shot Gazans at GHF distribution centers, while ignoring Hamas threats and attacks on hungry citizens accepting GHF food.
Hamas’s cynical strategy is working spectacularly well. While Israel may have devastated Hamas’s military command and control, the terror group’s heartless strategy of placing its people in harm’s way, then exploiting their deaths by blaming Israel, has been amazingly effective.
Global backlash against Israel has led to significant consequences for the Jewish state and Jews worldwide. For instance, Italy, Germany, Spain, Slovenia, Japan and Canada have imposed arms embargoes on Israel, and Turkey imposed a total trade ban. Despite the Palestinians’ barbaric Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, involving bloody slaughter, rape and cremation, a growing number of countries—most recently France, the United Kingdom and Canada—have moved to reward Hamas by pledging to recognize “Palestine” as a state.
Moreover, Israelis and Jews have become pariahs worldwide. Last month, pro-Hamas demonstrators in Greece prevented a cruise ship from disembarking its Israeli passengers. In Turkey, some business establishments have posted signs saying Jews were not welcome, and here at home, Jewish-owned eateries and markets in Philadelphia were targeted by a pro-Hamas boycott list.
Three weapons for defeating the Hamas strategy. Even as the truth is inverted against Israel in its fight to defeat a sadistic enemy by baseless accusations of genocide, starvation and ethnic cleansing, supporters of Israel have three effective responses at hand.
First, the power of truth: We cannot yield the high ground of facts and logic or the righteousness of Israel’s cause against brutal Islamist terror. We must boldly, tirelessly speak and publicize the truth to family, friends, on social media and to our elected representatives.
Our second weapon is continued support by the United States government, especially from the president, who has demonstrated full, unwavering backing to Israel in its war against Hamas, despite heavy criticism from leftist politicians and mainstream media. No matter our political affiliations, it behooves lovers of Israel to encourage this valuable support.
The third and most effective weapon against Islamist terror is for Israel to win its war against Hamas definitively. Hamas’s defeat will remove the group from power, ensure safety for the people of Israel, and free the Palestinians from their authoritarian yoke. Nothing is more convincing, and nothing shuts down the liars more effectively than winning.
Through truth and strength, we will ensure Israel prevails over its enemies in the media, in Congress and in the terrorist Middle East.
