Hamas terrorists in Gaza are known to hide behind what are referred to as human shields. This is a well-documented tactic they have employed for quite some time.
Being that this is their modus operandi, it should surprise no one that the current allegations being levied against the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) are completely bogus.
Following a recent well-coordinated attack on a high-rise office building in Gaza by the IDF, both the Associated Press and Al Jazeera have condemned these actions.
Why would they condemn these actions, The Western Journal explains:
The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza on Saturday after giving advance warning to civilians inside, leading The Associated Press to condemn the airstrike.
The Israeli Defense Forces Twitter account posted a message saying it had given advance warning that the building would be demolished. The structure housed international media offices, including offices for the AP and for Al Jazeera.
“After providing advance warning to civilians & time to evacuate, IDF fighter jets struck a multi-story building containing Hamas military intelligence assets,” the IDF said.
“The building contained civilian media offices, which Hamas hides behind and deliberately uses as human shields.”
It appears that the IDF makes every possible effort to be completely transparent in their actions.
Often times the IDF even goes as far as to drop leaflets in an area they intend to strike to warn inhabitants of that area to flee to safer ground. While this building did house civilian media offices, reports indicate that Hamas was using these individuals as human shields.
After providing advance warning to civilians & time to evacuate, IDF fighter jets struck a multi-story building containing Hamas military intelligence assets.
The building contained civilian media offices, which Hamas hides behind and deliberately uses as human shields. pic.twitter.com/zeDjEquePD
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 15, 2021
Even the Associated Press reported that they were warned that the building would be targeted and subsequently leveled. While some would condemn this action, there are few countries that go as far as Israel to warn their adversary before they attack them.
The owner of a Gaza high-rise housing the AP and other media outlets says he has received a call from the Israeli military that the building would be targeted. The man said he was told to make sure all residents have evacuated. https://t.co/QyRtPSPtlf
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 15, 2021
BREAKING: Israeli airstrike flattens high-rise building that houses The Associated Press, Al-Jazeera and other media in Gaza City, about an hour after evacuation order.https://t.co/V23sbhdEQw
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 15, 2021
The Western Journal continues:
AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt soon issued a statement condemning Israel’s destruction of the building, which, according to the IDF, was being used by terrorists.
“We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza. They have long known the location of our bureau and knew journalists were there. We received a warning that the building would be hit,” Pruitt said.
Of course, the mainstream media is quick to condemn this attack by the IDF claiming that it was simply an attack on the media at large and an effort to limit the ability of “journalists” to report on the happenings in Gaza.
Some are even referring to the destruction of this building as a war crime.
NBC News reports:
Press freedom advocates have condemned Saturday’s Israeli airstrike on a Gaza building that housed offices of foreign media, including The Associated Press and Al-Jazeera.
After it was struck by missiles, the 12-story al-Jalaa tower, which was also home to apartments and other offices, collapsed in giant cloud of dust, disrupting coverage of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip that has escalated last week, claiming dozens of lives.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, and journalists and other tenants were safely evacuated after the Israeli military gave an advance warning of an imminent strike.
Israel’s military has defended targeting the tower, saying that Hamas had a military intelligence office in the building and used journalists as human shields. It has not provided evidence of the intelligence operations in the building, and the AP cast doubt on the claim.
In a personal account of the evacuation, AP correspondent Fares Akram wrote that it was “one of the most horrible scenes I have ever witnessed.”
At least NBC News is willing to report on the fact that there are no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. And this is directly a result of the efforts the IDF takes to warn innocent civilians of imminent strikes.
NBC News continues:
Meanwhile, Mostefa Souag, acting director-general of Al-Jazeera Media Network, called the strike on the tower a “war crime,” before calling on all media and human rights institutions to denounce it.
The Washington-based National Press Club also questioned whether Israel was seeking to “impair independent and accurate coverage of the conflict,” while the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is headquartered in New York, said Israel should “provide a detailed and documented justification” for the attack.
Elsewhere, Barbara Trionfi, the executive director of the International Press Institute in Vienna, Austria, also called the strike “completely unacceptable.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich, said in a tweet that Israel was targeting media “so the world can’t see Israel’s war crimes.” Tlaib, who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants and is a frequent critic of Israel, added: “It’s so the world can’t see Palestinians being massacred.”
We are watching the peace that our President Donald Trump brought to this region unravel in mere weeks. Years of hard work pushing for diplomacy the likes of which have never been seen in the middle east are literally going up in smoke.
The media continues reporting these events in a way that only condemns Israel while our own representatives are alleging Israel is carrying out actual war crimes.
It’s clear where some of our elected officials and the media stand on these events and it’s not with Israel or the United States.
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