Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus joined “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” on October 31st. He promptly reminded the Godfather of CNN, the Wolfman himself that CNN has poor sourcing. Wolf tried backing him into a corner by asking if going after a singular Hamas leader and maybe some lower collateral damage pieces was a worthwhile exchange when some innocent Palestinian civilians get clipped too.
Promptly, he nipped that agenda in the bud.
“I would exercise a lot of caution relying on reports coming out of Gaza. I remember how the event in the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City started with reports of 500 dead and then 800 dead, and I know how it ended. We were blamed for killing … many Palestinian civilians then, but it later became apparent what had happened. And it also became apparent that the number of civilian casualties was greatly inflated by all of the so-called authorities in Gaza, which is basically saying Hamas.”
Conricus also addressed the concerns of civilians being hit. He openly said that Ibrahim Biari was the primary target, and he was eliminated, but because of his hiding decision, some civilians did get hit. Realistically, he nailed it. Collateral damage when you hide amongst civilians is going to be expected. These Islamic fighters have been notorious for taking pop shots and then retreating to hospitals, schools, and public transportation. They will even engage militaries and other civilians from these positions. Knowing full well that being fired back at is then a war crime.
Instead, Conricus suggested we look at the situation in a new manner. “We have to put into context that this is the same area, Northern Gaza, that we have been asking Palestinian civilians, non-combatants, to evacuate for almost two weeks. Most Palestinians have, but I really ask and would want to understand why have Palestinian civilians either been forced or chosen to remain in that area in direct risk of their own lives?”
Beginning their request for evacuations of non-combatants to leave Gaza in early October, reports of civilians being blocked or being shot at as they left have been reported. While there is much debate on who has been behind the blockades, the results at times have spoken for themselves. The Hamas and other fighters are doing everything they can to mix in as many civilians as possible. Given their allegations that the IDF is making them stay in place, is it so far-fetched to think that they are just sharing propaganda videos for CNN and others to eat up?
This has been a battle played out almost as much on social media as on the battlefield. When Hamas killed 1,300 people in Israel in a horrific terrorist attack, the footage was unreal. A sign of life boiling over, the conflict between these two has finally reached a fever pitch in the last 80 years, with decades of it predating the separation of states.
When a hospital was bombed on October 25th CNN and other mainstream outlets were quick to take the words of Gaza officials. People who were later directly tied to Hamas were feeding them horrific lies and trying to make the IDF look like mass murderers and committing war crimes. Yet US intelligence, rocket and missile tracking, and evidence collected at the scene all confirmed, that this was a failed rocket from Hamas. This isn’t the type of situation where anyone apologized to the Isaelis for rushing to condemn them either.
Instead, they used this to power their antisemitism machine into full force. Much like Hitler, these pro-Palestine groups have been attempting to justify killing the Jewish people who call Israel home. They believe a mass extinction is the only way to make the world right, and part of that comes from brainwashing the American media.
