Again, we Jews and pro-Israel Westerners are being made to feel guilty, this time by harangues about “fifteen” Gaza “paramedics” being “killed” by Israel (Wikipedia says “massacred”!). Yes, the Gazan men in question were killed by Israeli soldiers. About “medics” - it is reminiscent of 2015, when Time Magazine “reported” Israel had “killed a graphic designer”; what the illustrious media organization didn’t “report” until shamed into doing so months later by Israel’s government press office, was that the slain “graphic designer” (Baha Alyan) had slaughtered 3 civilians and injured many more.
Here are half a dozen pointers to help you understand what really happened this time:
1. Watch the video “evidence” provided by the Palestinian Arab side. For some reason, no reporter has pointed out that the ambulance attacked by the IDF, allegedly speeding to the rescue of injured terrorists, doesn’t seem to have its siren on. Much was made of the ambulance’s flashing light, however, but an ambulance on genuine emergency duty uses a siren whenever feasible because lights aren’t always enough.
2. The repeated articles about this one event are often deemed newsworthy on the flimsiest of grounds. The New York Times alone, which specializes in lending respectability to anti-Israel pitches, has run 6 (!) such articles. For example, a second round of articles “reported” that new footage (whether doctored or not is unknown), allegedly disproved Israel’s version of the event (BBC headline: “Video footage appears to contradict Israeli account of Gaza medic killings”, for example).
What actually happened was that an anonymous “Israeli military official“ (i.e. a single Israeli who preferred not to self-identify, always a suspicious request, assured journalists that Israel’s initial account of vehicles not having emergency lights on was “mistaken” (The Guardian: “Reuters cited an anonymous Israeli military official as telling journalists that the initial account …was mistaken”). Associated Press tried to explain that this official was remaining anonymous “in line with regulations“. But there are no “regulations” in Israel that require military updates to reporters to be provided anonymously: Israel employs a fulltime army spokesperson who appears, fully identified, all the time. Israeli also publishes official updates on its official website, idf dot il.
So why did this “official” remain anonymous? Perhaps because s/he was not telling the truth or does not exist. S/he said “that the initial account of the vehicles not having emergency lights on was mistaken“ (Reuters; and BBC: “The Israeli military initially said … "suspicious vehicles [were] driving …with …emergency lights off”).
In fact, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is recorded as having said “without headlights or emergency signals”. Ambulances have two sets of lights - siren lights atop, and headlights like any other car. The video only shows that the top siren lights were on; headlights are not visible because the video was taken from behind. Judging by the video’s audio channel, the siren (which the FM probably meant when he said “emergency signals”) was off. So – what mistake? It seems that BBC and the Guardian (and Associated Press and Politico) never went back to check if what Israel’s foreign minister actually said really was refuted by the video – even though reporter-verification of facts is supposed to be standard journalistic practice.
3: The Red Cross website insists medical personnel/facilities/objects used for humanitarian relief must “never” be attacked”. Not true. We asked ChatGPT a general question: Cannot insurgents' medical teams easily be mistaken as military reinforcements by a conventional army and shot at when they rush to a scene? Here’s what ChatGPT, “trained on” (i.e. reflecting) conventional Western norms, had to say:
“That's a really good and insightful question — and you're right, it is a tricky problem in real-world conflicts…. If insurgents have their own medics (which some organized groups like the Taliban, ISIS, or various militia forces often do), their own teams will try to treat them. But you're absolutely correct: if these medics rush to the battlefield, they could easily be mistaken for re-inforcements and get shot at by the opposing military forces. Combat zones are confusing, and soldiers are trained to react to unknown movement fast, especially if it's coming from the enemy side…. In some cases, insurgent groups try to mark medics with something visible (like a red cross or crescent), but that doesn't always help — especially if the opposing military force thinks insurgents might fake those symbols to get close (which has happened before, and ruins trust)….It's a dangerous and very murky situation…
• Someone running with a bag?
• Crawling quickly to a wounded comrade?
• Approaching in a vehicle?
All of that could easily be interpreted as "the enemy is trying to fight or retrieve weapons."… In short: You're absolutely right — medical aid and combat operations blur together when you're dealing with terrorists, and it leads to deadly misunderstandings. And unfortunately, some insurgent and terrorist groups exploit this, faking surrender or medical missions to attack, which makes soldiers even more cautious and skeptical.”
All of this is doubly true of Gaza given that that interrogated perpetrators of the7 October massacre freely admitted, on tape, that when moving from place to place they prefer ambulances which enjoy special status hence “cannot” be shot at.
4. How embarrassing that the New York Times solemnly “reported” (i.e. dignified and legitimized) the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) shrill rhetoric calling the encounter “a full-fledged war crime.” Articles should include background; the NYT should have clarified that the Palestinian Red Crescent lacks investigational authority, hence legal ability, to determine whether a “war crime” has been committed at all -- let alone so soon after the event.
Also, the NYT should have added that the PRC clearly has it in for Israel, since normally, Red Cross/Crescent Movement principles are neutrality and impartiality – causing them to refrain from publicly blaming any side to a conflict (unless it’s Israel). Notably, the selfsame Red Cross/Crescent Movement has – to this day – never publicly blamed Hamas for taking Israeli hostages, let alone see to their welfare.
Worst, the NYT failed to provide context about the nefarious Palestinian Red Crescent, leaving naïve NYT readers laboring under the illusion that the PRC is doubtless a legitimate counterpart of the American Red Cross. Far from it! The Palestinian Red Crescent has held a “Prisoners’ Day” to show solidarity with terrorists, many being convicted mass- murderers, and has spoken of its “respect for the blood of the Martyrs (Shahids) who [were] shot by the Israeli occupation" – referring to two proven murderers, shot and killed when Israeli forces came to arrest them.
5. The context that no-one seems to provide, when “reporting” about Israel’s war against Iran and its proxies, is that Israel has the lowest rate of civilian vs. combatant casualties recored, while in the rest of the world, “ninety per cent of war-time casualties are civilians”. That’s why this sort of story should never have been deemed newsworthy to begin with, let alone worthy of 6 separate NYT articles.
War is a bad thing – that’s why Hamas, not Israel, should be blamed for casualties, again and again. Kudos to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce who has said exactly that (“Every single thing that’s happening (in Gaza) is a result of Hamas and its choices to drag that region down into a level of suffering that has …caused innumerable deaths”).
Compare hers to the embarrassing statement by the CEO of the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) who tear-jerkingly said of the Red Crescent medics in Gaza that their “sole purpose… is… to go and help somebody,… it's absolutely heartbreaking … these humanitarians,… who… are not against anybody … [The] only thing they are, is they are for humanity”.
Not against anybody? For humanity?? Some reporter should have reminded this faker that Dalal Mughrabi (leader of a terrorist attack which slaughtered 37 Israelis including 12 children) was also a volunteer nurse for the Red Crescent….
6. The chief attribute of Hamas society is enslavement to terrorist chieftains. It is terribly naïve for useful idiots (“journalists”) to assume Hamas society's “medics” are just medics, that its “teachers” are just teachers, and that its “hospitals” are just hospitals (as opposed to Hamas-pitals). For example, what could be more moving than a Palestinian Arab “Scouts Association,” reminiscent of Girl Scouts selling cookies. So, there is a Palestinian Arab “Scout Association”, internationally recognized, which named its Leadership Course after … former scout Baha Alyan – the “graphic designer” (terrorist) again!
Susie Dym is spokesperson for Mattot Arim, an Israeli NGO working toward peace-for-peace since 1992