Masters of deception

Hecht said Israel has distributed over 1.5-million pamphlets in aerial drops across Gaza, imploring residents to leave.

As the Israeli offensive in Gaza progresses, with the primary goal of freeing 345 hostages, including two Filipinos, the Israel Defense Forces exposed more of the evil designs of the pogromist Hamas.

A month after the treacherous 7 October massacre of innocent civilians, including babies and the elderly, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said international reactions to the war showed the world is “getting played” by the syndicates of terror.

Hamas has been adept at deception such as using human shields which means exploiting not only its hostages but the Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip as well.

Hecht explained that the mounting civilian deaths being blamed on Israeli airstrikes is part of an international campaign to deceive the world.

Gullible international groups simplistically blame Israel for the piling casualties which Hecht said “isn’t just wrong, it’s downright dangerous…and can cost lives.”

A core strategy of Hamas is to “hide behind Gazans, protecting its terrorists by fighting from under hospitals and mosques,” Hecht said.

Established even before the war was that the goal of Hamas is to maximize Gazan civilian casualties, point a finger at Israel regardless of who hurt the civilians, such as what happened at the al-Ahli Gaza Hospital explosion, and get the world to condemn Israel.

“Gazans are dying. And it’s tragic. But it’s Hamas’ deliberate strategy that is causing it, not Israel,” Hecht pointed out.

He added, “Every time Hamas’ tactics succeed and Israel is blamed, it sends a clear message to the terrorists that their strategy is working.” By blaming Israel, Hamas is encouraged to continue shooting rockets that misfire and kill Palestinians.

Hamas is also convinced that fighting from hospitals gives them carte blanche, and firing rockets from kindergartens or near United Nations facilities leads to one of two responses from Israel, which is either ignoring the attacks and letting them happen again or attacking Hamas’ positions and being blamed for it.

Worse, it tells terrorists around the world that their treachery works.

Getting Gazan residents out of the line of fire so that Israel could contend with Hamas directly and prevent another 7 October has been a priority in the current phase of the war.

Hecht said Israel has distributed over 1.5-million pamphlets in aerial drops across Gaza, imploring residents to leave. Israel has also sent out over 4.3-million text messages asking them to move south, to safer areas in southern Israel. Over 5.9 million prerecorded phone calls and nearly 20,000 live phone calls were placed to persuade Gazans to relocate south temporarily.

These efforts to prevent civilians from getting in the line of fire are being blocked by Hamas as the terrorists precisely want civilians in the line of fire.

Hamas’ strategy makes use of Gaza residents either as human shields or for body count.

Hamas places blockades to prevent people from leaving northern Gaza and shoots at civilians when they try to leave. The terrorist army also confiscates keys and ID cards from residents to prevent them from fleeing the war zone.

Hamas sees the Palestinians of Gaza as a tool in their terrorist arsenal, not as people to defend, according to Hecht.

A simple analogy for the savagery of the group is that Hamas uses the network of tunnels for its own safety, not the Gazans’.

“Hamas has done everything it can to counter the IDF’s efforts to urge civilians in Gaza to move south,” the IDF official indicated.

When it comes to hiding their activity, hospitals are the most insidious example of Hamas’ human shield strategy. Declassified aerial surveillance video showed Hamas shooting from a hospital in Gaza.

“We’ve released information on how Hamas has fortified military tunnels and command posts under al-Shifa hospital. We also declassified intelligence that shows the extent to which Hamas tunnels are being built under Gaza’s hospitals and how rockets are being fired from near a hospital,” Hecht said.

Israel has plenty of evidence of the Hamas playbook — which is to attack Israel, use civilians as human shields, avoid revenge attacks, and exploit international rage.

International condemnation should be directed at Hamas and global efforts should focus on ensuring that the terrorist organization does not spread its barbarism.

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Credit belongs to: tribune.net.ph