That’s the new strategy for Hamas as Israel Defense Forces try to distribute food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians in Gaza, Caroline Glick, international affairs advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Washington Watch Tuesday.
And the strategy is getting a boost from major media outlets, she warns, who report without question the claims made by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
“It’s actually pretty telling and pretty distressing that these very major American news outlets are parroting repeatedly Hamas's propaganda which is aimed towards preventing Israel from securing the environment for the United States to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Glick, formerly of the Jewish News Syndicate, told show host Tony Perkins.
Securing the area is necessary not only for the safety of the civilians but to prevent the supplies from falling into Hamas’ hands.
“Until now Hamas has used the aid distribution networks of the U.N. (United Nations) to maintain the continuation of its regime and to maintain its chokehold on the Palestinians in Gaza. Now suddenly they've lost that which is the one thing that has kept them in power the whole time,” Glick said.
The response by Hamas has been predictable.
“They’re doing everything they possibly can to scuttle the program to prevent the people of Gaza from receiving the aid that that the international community wants to provide,” she said.
The U.N. has been one of the loudest critics of the new distribution system, claiming it allows Israel, in effect, to weaponize the aid.
Instead, there have been reports, Glick said, of Palestinians who have been pleasantly surprised that they haven’t had to pay for the donated food and supplies as they had in the past after supplies had been taken over by Hamas.
In the past, Hamas would take these supplies with the knowledge and blessing of the U.N., Glick said.
“The U.N. and Hamas basically together have been protecting Hamas’ regime in Gaza,” she said.
Palestinian civilians “have been forced to pay, and that’s money Hamas has used to recruit new terrorists to blow up Israeli soldiers, to threaten Israel and maintain the war. The whole thing has been exposed, so suddenly the U.N. is trying to demonize and delegitimize this effort.”
The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 27 people have been killed by Israeli soldiers over Sunday and Monday incidents near aid distribution centers.
IDF: Shots were fired in warning
The IDF has confirmed that it has fired shots, but they’ve been warning shots toward individuals who have been approaching the distribution area from undesignated routes.
An Israeli military source told CNN that IDF forces fired warning shots, but this occurred several hours before the opening of one aid center and about a kilometer away from the actual distribution point.
Still, news websites for CNN and BBC both published headlines that said “31 dead …” because of gunfire from Israeli forces.
The Jerusalem Post late Sunday showed photos of the pages from both outlets and stamped “Fake News” in bold red text across them.
The Post showed video provided by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American nonprofit, from its distribution center in Rafah. The video, almost five minutes in length, showed long lines with an orderly distribution of aid to civilians.
"All aid was distributed today without incident. No injuries or fatalities. We have heard that these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated," a GHF spokesperson told The Post.
The IDF has emphasized its cooperation with GHF and other international aid groups. Hamas is attempting to use starvation as a means of maintaining control in Gaza, the IDF says.
The shots fired are real, but they’re coming from Hamas, not Israel, Glick said.
“Hamas is accusing Israel day after day of committing the crimes that Hamas itself has been committing. They’ve been shooting at people trying to get to the aid depots, trying to terrorize and threaten people with execution if they dare to go and receive aid directly from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” Glick said.
It’s a plan that has worked with complicit media friends, she said.
“It’s working because AP, Reuters, the BBC, NBC, CNN and ABC have all been promoting this false story. Our soldiers do not shoot at civilians, period.”
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, has been highly critical of major American media outlets for their coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict. He specifically accused The New York Times, CNN and The Associated Press of spreading “false information.”
In a statement, he dismissed claims that Israeli forces shot or killed Palestinians attempting to receive food as “completely fabricated.”
“Drone videos and firsthand accounts clearly show that there were no injuries, no deaths, no shootings, no mayhem,” Huckabee said via i24 News. “It is Hamas that continues to terrorize and intimidate those seeking food aid.”
The connection to attacks on U.S. Jews
The media’s reporting is contributing to a climate of antisemitism that has led to violence against Jews in the U.S., Huckabee said.
Glick agreed.
“You have people in the United States who have supported Hamas all along and have believed the demonization of Israel that’s come out of the media and other places like academia. So, CNN tells them Israel is doing these things, and they view this as justification to murder innocent Jewish people,” she said.
