Top U.S. General Cowers in Face of Media Histrionics as Israeli Rules of Engagement Prevail
Photo by Omri Greenberg on Unsplash
Key Points:
· A meddlesome American general.
· A false narrative.
· The reality at Jabaliya.
· What refugee camp?
· Postscript
General Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose distinguished U.S. Air Force career had little if anything to do with the intricacies of urban warfare, has seen fit to advise his Israeli counterpart on the importance of explaining to the news media details about target selection.
This was revealed when Brown spoke with reporters in Tokyo on November 9. According to Reuters, Brown stated he told the IDF Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi that Israel must demonstrate “why they’re striking in some locations, to provide more context to the strike.”
Brown raised the issue in the wake of an October 31 attack by the Israel Air Force on Hamas targets in a Gaza neighborhood called Jabaliya.
The Hamas Narrative
In the immediate aftermath of the October 31 operation, a torrent of shoddy, inaccurate, biased reporting by the likes of the Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and National Public Broadcasting captured world-wide attention. Their news reports were based on the supposed objective claims of Gaza-situated “journalists” and “stringers” – a journalistic practice fraught with danger.
Online news reports blared allegations of the brutal atrocity the Israel Air Force carried out on innocent women, children and the elderly. Of course, the false media message was that no Hamas combatants, aka terrorists, were in the buildings, tunnels and area involved.
Here are some glaring examples of how the media jumped the gun:
· Los Angeles Times (Oct. 31) “Airstrike flatten blocks of Gaza refugee camp, bringing rage, grief and a perilous new phase of war”
· CNN (Oct. 31) “Jabaliya blast: Massive explosion at Gaza refugee camp”
· Washington Post (Oct. 31) “Israeli strikes on Jabaliya refugee camp kill and injure hundreds in Gaza”
· New York Times (Oct. 31) “Videos show a densely populated area of Gaza decimated by Israel’s airstrike”
· Reuters (Oct. 31) “Israel strikes dense Gaza camp, says it kills Hamas commander”
· PBS (Nov. 1) “Israeli airstrikes flatten apartments in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, Israel says attack targeted Hamas”
What Really Happened
Western intelligence agencies acknowledge that Israel has the technological wherewithal to pinpoint the coordinates of rocket and mortar launches from within the Gaza theater of operations.
At some point between 30 and 90 minutes before the Israeli Air Force struck targets in Jabaliya, Israel’s “Code Red” alert system identified two barrages of rockets targeting the Tel Aviv area. It was in the aftermath of these barrages that launch sites – both above and below ground – in Jabaliya were likely identified for attack.
This coincided with, in the words of an IDF press release, “IDF fighter jets, acting on ISA intelligence,” being directed to the same Jabaliya coordinates where Ibrahim Bieri, commander of Hamas’ Central Jabaliya Battalion, was hiding.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the same day, without commenting specifically on the airstrike, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that Hamas had ‘willfully and deliberately integrated their operations, their command-and-control nodes, armories, rockets targeting Israel among the innocent Gazan population, thus, in effect employing them as human shields.”
In an article updated on November 2, India TV wrote: “Residents said that the ground began to collapse after the strike and buildings fell into sinkholes.
These observations buttress Israeli claims about the presence of Hamas tunnels and other possible Hamas facilities, including underground rocket launching pads.
The “refugee camp” misnomer
Throughout the war that broke out on October 7, the media and Hamas lovers have continually referred to locations in Gaza as “refugee camps.” The reality is quite different.
Commenting on the events of October 31, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, who serves under the auspices of the IDF spokesman: stated: “Jabaliya is the permanent residence of Palestinians under Palestinian rule. No refugees there, just as my grandparents from Morocco and Poland fled to Israel in 1948 are no longer refugees.”
Postscript
On November 21, the IDF announced its forces have completely surrounded the Jabaliya area of Gaza. Elements of the 551st Division have captured Hamas combat assets in a number of locations, including residences and children’s rooms, and destroyed tunnel shafts.
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