{"id":123458,"date":"2025-08-18T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=123458"},"modified":"2025-08-17T09:27:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T07:27:53","slug":"17-05-114","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=123458","title":{"rendered":"Media Says \u2018IDF Targets Kids,\u2019 But Ignores Realities of Fighting Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>Media Says \u2018IDF Targets Kids,\u2019 But Ignores Realities of Fighting Hamas<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Channa Rifkin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Palestinian terrorists and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS\/Hatem Khaled<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, \u201cthe IDF is targeting children\u201d has been a media narrative \u2014 or rather,\u00a0a<\/i>\u00a0Hamas<\/i>\u00a0narrative<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019<\/em>\u00a0expos\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0\u201c65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza\u201d\u00a0and the BBC\u2019s\u00a0investigative report<\/a>\u00a0\u201cTwo girls shot in Gaza\u2026\u201d\u00a0are just a couple of the grotesque displays of bias. Evidence of Hamas\u2019 responsibility is often doubted or dismissed, while in a narrative such as the BBC\u2019s case, the blame is placed solely on Israel and its \u201clack of accountability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Basics of Guerrilla-Style Urban Warfare in Gaza<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Urban guerrilla warfare differs significantly from conventional urban warfare.\u00a0Bill Roggio<\/a>,\u00a0Senior Fellow and Editor of Foundation for Defense of Democracy\u2019s (FDD)\u00a0Long War Journal,<\/em>\u00a0told HonestReporting that Israel\u2019s real challenge with Hamas \u201cis [that they\u2019re] fighting out of uniform, and they\u2019re fighting from places like mosques, schools, and hospitals.\u201d He says that while civilian casualties are always unavoidable in war, enemies like Hamas hiding and operating among them make it \u201cfar more complicated.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

In guerrilla warfare, the rules of engagement, or how soldiers are meant to act on suspicious activity, can become murky. With challenges that militaries like the IDF encounter on the battlefield while maneuvering or stationing in Gaza, reports of civilians and even children being injured or killed have flooded the media and heavily influenced the global understanding of the conflict. The problem? Average consumers don\u2019t understand realities on the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roggio discusses the breakdown of rules of engagement in the chaos of a guerrilla-style environment:<\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t shoot someone just because they\u2019re on a rooftop with a radio\u2026. But then [you] started finding out that kid was a spotter or a lookout, or they\u2019re being used to run ammunition during firefights, or women were being used in the same way, or even as suicide bombers in cases. So restrictive rules of engagement, once the enemy is aware, they take advantage of this.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not to mention, military-aged males aged 16 through 20 are still considered children, he reminds us. The media report on children being shot, but Hamas doesn\u2019t distinguish between terrorists and civilians in its death toll. This only serves to bolster terrorist propaganda further.<\/span><\/p>\n

The press, international community, and NGOs often misunderstand the realities of warfare, says Roggio. His war reporting and military experience give him the insight to assess it. He uses the 2004 U.S. drone strikes on Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, where the terrorist to civilian ratio was calculated to 1:1 or 2:1, as another example.<\/span><\/p>\n

The US receives so much criticism for this, but it\u2019s a misunderstanding of war\u2026sometimes I think it\u2019s an intentional misunderstanding, or I guess that wouldn\u2019t be a misunderstanding. It\u2019s an intentional ignorance.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then, they treat figures and statements from terror groups, or in Hamas\u2019 case, \u201cministries\u201d, with credibility. Herein lies one of the biggest issues: buying propaganda and leaving out important context that misleads the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n