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— Officials say Israel, as a victim, is being victimized more as fake numbers coming out of Gaza put the world against the Jewish nation
During times of conflict, accuracy is frequently compromised amidst the chaos of war. This is particularly apparent in the coverage of casualties in the continuous conflict in Gaza—a situation that is putting the world against the state of Israel, officials lament.
The recent escalation of tensions between Israel and Hamas following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has raised concerns about the way the world perceives Israel’s military response. Israel, as a nation, feels being vilified and unfairly criticized by the international community for its actions in the wake of the deadly attack.
The state of Israel, a nation with a history of security challenges, is still reeling from the loss of over 1200 lives in the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials have expressed shock and dismay at the global reaction accompanied by a barrage of condemnations to their defensive measures in response to the aggression they faced—all due to the fake numbers that are coming out of the Hamas controlled Palestinian territory.
Speaking to the Senior Editor of the Daily Observer and other African journalists during a recent visit in Jerusalem, Israel, Sharren Haskel, Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Israel is being portrayed as the aggressor when, in reality, they [Israelis] are the real victims–being the ones who suffered an unprovoked attack resulting in the loss of hundreds of innocent lives and the abduction of many more.
“We were the victims of a brutal attack on our country and our people,” Haskel, also a member of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, stated. “It is disheartening to see that the world is turning against us simply because we are taking necessary measures to protect our citizens and defend our sovereignty.”
Global criticism has intensified in recent months over Israel’s targeting of civilians in Gaza, prompting calls for independent investigations from countries like France. One such incident involved the deaths of at least 115 people and injuries to over 750 individuals during an attack at the Nabulsi roundabout in Gaza City in March.
Reports suggested that Israeli soldiers opened fire as civilians gathered for aid supplies, while Israeli officials stated that their forces acted in self-defense when faced with a perceived threat from the crowd.
South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, condemned the event, citing violations of international law and ICJ orders.
The SA government said: “This latest atrocity is another breach of international law and in breach of the binding provisional orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).”
However, Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel noted that it is high time that countries of the world, especially African Countries, seek the truth and change their views, opinions, and perspectives on the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
“Israel has a lot of friends across the world but they are being made to turn against Israel since the crisis and how the big media organizations are reporting on the crisis,” she said. “Our friends need to get the real truth and get to know what the actual stories are.”
Sharon Bar-li, Deputy Director of the Africa Division of Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said that the countries of the world are not being fair to Israel–believing that the propaganda of Israel’s enemies seems to be working because they are buying into fake news.
Israel is only all she can to defend herself and people are using propaganda to tarnish our reputation, while granting legitimacy to a terrorist organization and provoke this crisis by attacking and killing our people,” Bar-Li said. “This is unfair. We need the support of our friends in this situation. This is important.”
She called on African countries to stand with Israel as it has been in the past.
“We have been true partners in the past. Why are we being vilified by our friends because of propaganda against us?,” Bar-Li, who was the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana and Liberia from 2011 until 2015, asked rhetorically.
“No one should be criticized for defending and protecting its people. We did not call for this, Hamas did… so what should we do? Sit and allow Hamas wept out our people and the state of Israel? This is not possible. We are fighting against our enemies. We are fighting against Hamas, a terrorist organization and not innocent people as the media are making our friends to believe.
“We will not allow this. We will fight back the best way possible to protect and defend our people and our territory.”
Global Biases Fueled by Fake Numbers Coming from Out of Gaza
Israeli officials told the team of African Journalists in Jerusalem last week that the Gaza conflict’s civilian casualty figures have been exaggerated in an attempt to paint Israel as intentionally harming innocent individuals–and the major international media organizations are buying into it.
“The numbers that are coming out of Gaza are not real numbers,” Ambassador Mark Regev, former Ambassador to the UK and former Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netayaru, said at a round table. “Those numbers are astronomically high and do not represent the facts.”
Regev criticized the Gaza health ministry for including non-conflict-related deaths, not distinguishing between civilian and combat casualties, and overstating the count of women and children who were killed.
“Israel is a victim of two kinds of biases during this crisis,” Regev revealed. “There is the systematic bias of the United Nations and the major global media outlets.”
“Those major outlets are publishing statistics that they have not and cannot verify. Everything they are publishing is being given to them by the Hamas controlled Ministry of Health…so who is giving those numbers? Is it not the same Hamas that we are fighting?” Regev asked. “The BBC and others are not being fair to Israel. Can they tell us how they are verifying those figures that are provided by Hamas through its Ministry of Health?”
The former spokesman’s views are supported by a study from the Henry Jackson Society, a think tank, which alleges that the figures have been distorted by the Hamas-led authorities in Gaza for propaganda reasons, with global media organizations uncritically disseminating them. The Gaza health ministry’s data suggests, as the Telegraph reported last week, that over 44,000 fatalities have occurred since Israel’s military retaliation to the October 7 Hamas assaults.
The Henry Jackson Society discovered, based on Israeli and US military and intelligence findings, that approximately 17,000 of the reported deaths were Hamas fighters.
However, the Society asserts that this crucial detail has often been disregarded in media coverage. According to its report, the Gaza health ministry, under Hamas control, has inflated the casualty count by failing to differentiate between civilian and combatant fatalities, exaggerating the numbers of women and children killed, and even including individuals who died prior to the conflict.
This misrepresentation has created a narrative depicting the Israel Defense Forces as targeting civilians disproportionately, despite a significant proportion of the deceased being combatants.
“This is why our African friends must look out for the facts because most of what is being spread are not the actual facts,” Ambassador Bar-Li said. “We are the victims of this crisis and unfortunately, we are being victimized more due to biased coverage of the crisis. We need your support in this…please stand by and with us.”
