At the same time that Israel prevents journalists from entering Gaza, it invites journalists to watch videos of the massacre carried out by Hamas, writes ‘s foreign correspondent Antti Kuronen.
Antti KuronenForeign reporter
Today, the Israeli embassy in Finland invited journalists to watch a more than forty-minute summary of the terrorist attack by Hamas a month ago.
The shocking footage includes material filmed by Hamas, but also situations recorded on surveillance cameras and car cameras.
The video shows how Hamas infiltrated kibbutzim and rave parties. Hamas terrorists are seen killing people indiscriminately, entire families.
In one image, a Hamas terrorist appears to be trying to hack off the head of a dead man lying on the floor.
Exceptional action from the embassy
It is very unusual for the embassy to invite journalists to look at the war crimes of the other side of the conflict. ‘s delivery did not directly recall anything similar.
According to Israel’s ambassador, the world is forgetting the bloody act of terrorism by Hamas. That’s why Israel wants to remind journalists about it.
– We hope that this film will be remembered. This is the context on which we act, said Israel’s ambassador to Finland Hagit Ben-Yaakov.
According to Ben-Yakov, there are media that have not internalized the horror of the Hamas terrorist attack. He did not name the media, but somewhat surprisingly, he said that the problem occurs in Finland as well.
In Finland, the media extensively reported on the terrorist attack by Hamas.
Uutiset visited, among other things, the Kafir Aza kibbutz on the Gaza border and also met the families of the kidnapped people.
Israel is waging a media war
The arrangements for the press conference were also exceptional. Access to the event was by personal invitation only.
The phones were collected because the victims can be identified from the videos. In order to preserve their dignity, the material is not wanted to be made public, said an Israeli military official who was there.
The same film was shown yesterday in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Now it is being shown to journalists in different countries. Alongside the actual war
After seeing the film, a member of parliament from the Likud party Gilat Distel Atbaryan announced “the vengeful and merciless IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to wipe out Gaza”.
Israel won’t let journalists into Gaza
Part of the media campaign has been that Israel has not allowed journalists to report into Gaza. Israel has released very little footage of its combat operations.
These things limit the public’s access to information.
There is a small number of journalists in Gaza who were there when the war started because they live there.
The terrorist attack by Hamas was shocking and claimed a huge number of victims. Israel’s goal to destroy Hamas must be understood.
Still, there are rules in war that apply in all situations. Isolation of the civilian population from basic supplies and forced relocation are questionable actions from the point of view of international law. Airstrikes, where the majority of victims are civilians, are also problematic.
Bringing up these issues is also important for the media.
According to an Israeli military official, civilian casualties cannot be avoided in the war to defeat Hamas.
According to him, the battles will not end until the goal is achieved.
– The terrorist attack showed that living with Hamas cannot continue. Previous operations in Gaza failed because they merely weakened Hamas, not destroyed the terrorist organization, the military official said.
This time Israel’s goal is clear.
“Hamas has been destroyed at the point when its will and ability to continue fighting has been defeated,” the military official said.