GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 699

The Eighth Front

More Than A Spokesman

Many think that the longtime spokesman for Hamas that was assassinated recently only made statements for them, but as seen in a report from World News Israel he was much more than that:

Abu Obeida, who spent nearly 20 years as the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing before Israel eliminated him on Sunday, oversaw a propaganda network of more than 1,000 operatives who work directly with the terror group’s military units across Gaza to control messaging and orchestrate psychological warfare, according to a Tuesday report.

This elaborate network of operatives used footage to deceive the world by telling the war the way they want it to done:

The operatives act as “operational documenters” within Hamas’s military units, using GoPros and camera kits to capture and then distort battleground footage, Army Radio correspondent Doron Kadosh reported, according to a translation by Google Translate.

It was done to counter Israel’s reporting:

Each military unit hosts a “propaganda department” that edits field footage into videos as operatives monitor Israeli media to tailor Hamas’s messaging.

Of course he was intimately involved with the hostage videos:

Abu Obeida personally stage-managed hostages on “what they would say and how they would be filmed” in videos, Kadosh reported.

And he programmed the hostage release “ceremonies” until they received justified criticism:

The propaganda chief attended “the hostage release ceremonies in the latest release deal,” where he “briefed the hostages before they went on stage—what to say and what to do,” according to the report.

More than speaking for the terrorists he actually helped plan the war efforts:

He was also involved in Hamas’s battle plans, scheming to use global “awareness and influence” to dissuade Israel from launching an offensive to take control of Gaza City.

Kadosh alluded to the media tactics as well:

“He planned to do this through psychological terror tactics that would make use of the hostages,” Kadosh went on.

Taking him out of action is a huge blow to Hamas and shows why taking Gaza City is critical:

Israel on Friday launched what it called the “initial stages” of the long-planned offensive on Gaza City, aiming to dismantle Hamas’s last stronghold, bring home all remaining hostages, and disarm Hamas.

He Wanted To Be Anonymous

Obeida was known for face covering:

Abu Obeida never publicly showed his face and often appeared masked in a red-checkered kaffiyeh.

He made wild threats as well:

After Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, he threatened to execute civilian hostages and broadcast the killings in response to Israeli retaliatory strikes.

And he made even more boasts about how easy it was for Hamas to attack Israel:

In 2021, he claimed that the decision to bomb Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities is “easier for us than drinking water.”

I’ve said for some time that Hamas is extremely good at messaging making it a war front all by itself:

Hamas has made propaganda a weapon in its war against Israel, distorting international perceptions of the Jewish state while portraying itself as a resistance movement.

It works hand in hand with using citizen buildings as command centers among other things which is against international war law:

The tactic mirrors the terror group’s repeated use of civilian infrastructure to shield terrorist activity, from building tunnels and command centers beneath hospitals and schools to planting mines among children’s toys inside residential buildings.

Kadosh states that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) considers them terrorists although they fight a different way. But he also notes that more are still working:

In addition to Abu Obeida, Israel has “eliminated more than 200 terrorists” from the propaganda network, “most of them at the command level,” though “more than 1,000 functioning terrorists remain in the apparatus,” Kadosh reported.

This is why I said from the start of the reporting of the hospital strike that people bemoaning the loss of “innocent” journalists was premature. And if you want to see just who these so-called reporters really work for in Gaza there is a web site where they are identified. If you peruse the site you can tell that Hamas has more than covered their bases in fighting this war. It will take a great deal more effort to win on all fronts, including the eighth one.