Propaganda, disinformation, and the radicalization of opinions… Beyond the battleground, the war between Israel and Hamas is also wreaking havoc on the media front. For both sides, all kinds of tactics are being used in order to rally public opinion to their cause… often at the expense of reality and rationality.
Is Hamas a master of communication? On Monday, October 23, the Islamist group released two Israeli hostages. During an interview with the BBC, one of them, Yocheved Lifshitz, started by saying that she “went through hell” during her abduction.
However, these initial words were quickly overshadowed, as the released hostage stressed on the “courteous” treatment she received during her captivity. She claimed to have gotten medical care and was properly fed. The first images that came out from the hostage’s release showed her shaking hands with Hamas’ fighters…quiet a significant gesture.
Communication Warfare
While most Western media outlets focused on the first part of this interview, many supporters of the Palestinian cause have opted to highlight the second part. For, by presenting her captors in a more humane manner, Mrs. Lifshitz inadvertently bettered the image of Hamas. This contradicts the rhetoric of Israeli officials who seek to equate Hamas with terrorist groups like ISIS.
As such, the 85-year-old Israeli woman indirectly allowed the Islamist group supported by Iran to achieve a victory on the other major battleground that characterizes this conflict, namely the media one. Although not explicitly linked, the day of her release coincided with a press conference given by the Israeli army. Its precise objective was to unveil more images of the massacres carried out by Hamas on October 7.
Since the beginning of the conflict, an information war has been raging between the two sides. The images of the initial massacre had sparked a wave of sympathy for Israel in Western countries. However, they were quickly replaced by those of deadly Israeli bombings, causing a catastrophe within the Palestinian population of the enclave.
Hamas’ Strategy
Here lies the perverse effect of the content revealed by the embedded cameras carried by Hamas’ fighters. The operation leaders deliberately chose to equip them with an important number of such cameras, fully aware that the latter would be retrieved by the Israeli authorities at the end of a suicide offensive. Their content was intended to scare the Israeli population and encourage support for the fiercest potential retaliation.
In addition, this has allowed the group controlling the Palestinian enclave to benefit from cost-effective communication. Posted directly by Gazans on social media and relayed by supporters of the Palestinian cause, the images of bombings and those of thousands of casualties- half of whom are under 18- are enough to discredit Tel Aviv’s actions across large segments of world opinion.
More recently, Hamas unveiled a new propaganda tool in the form of hostages captured during the initial offensive. In a video released on Monday, October 30, three women presented as Israeli captives accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of disregarding the hostages while also holding him responsible for the events of October 7.
Read more
While it is highly likely that these words are being dictated to the hostages, they help fuel the narrative that considers Netanyahu as the sole responsible for the situation. Indirectly, this also strengthens the discourse of the Islamist group positioning themselves as victims in the face of Israeli bombings, at the expense of Gaza civilians.
Finally, beyond the Israelis and international public opinion, Hamas’s communication also targets the Palestinians. By conducting a large-scale action against Israel, it attempts to assert itself further as the only political actor qualified to lead the battle. This is mostly the case when compared to Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Movement, in power in the West Bank and considered to be particularly corrupt.
Read more
Netanyahu’s Government Strategy
On the other hand, Netanyahu’s government also benefits from the abundance of images from October 7. In fact, their impact on the Israeli public opinion makes the latter more sympathetic towards the most extremist cabinet in the country’s history.
Thus, some political leaders have not hesitated to use words and measures that strongly promote the escalation of violence. This is notably the case of the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant: By using dehumanizing terms, he influences a portion of Israelis to accept the war crimes committed by the army.
Furthermore, Tel Aviv deploys significant resources to fuel its information warfare machinery. A recent example of this is a propaganda advertising campaign against Hamas, disseminated by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on social media and mobile games, highlighting the massacres committed by the Palestinian Islamist group. In certain videos, it is even compared to the Islamic State (ISIS) organization.
Estimated to have cost several million dollars, as indicated by the French newspaper Libération, the anti-Hamas advertising campaign specifically targeted platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and the popular game Candy Crush. Its clear objective was to stir up emotions and rally support from the youth in the relevant countries in favor of Israeli policies.
In this sense, Tel Aviv’s communication differs from that of its adversary. A strategy with a precise name: “Hasbara”. This term, which means “explanation” in Hebrew, designates the communication strategy promoted by the Israeli Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs. Hasbara can take many forms: influential communication campaigns, the broadcasting of military propaganda videos by the Israeli army, experts justifying its actions and, of course, the advertising clips shown above.
While Hamas seeks to portray itself as the victim of the Netanyahu government’s reaction, the latter is more interested in legitimizing its military response through institutionalized communication.
In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at misinformation, press freedom and the role of social networks in this context.
