{"id":65323,"date":"2021-05-15T14:33:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-15T18:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=65323"},"modified":"2021-05-15T14:33:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T18:33:37","slug":"israel-inflicting-maximum-destruction-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=65323","title":{"rendered":"Israel Inflicting Maximum Destruction in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel is deliberately obliterating media buildings in Gaza to cover up the war crimes that will follow<\/strong><\/h1>\n

by Eva Bartlett
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Smoke and flames rise from a tower building as it is destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza City \u00a9 Reuters<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The destruction of two important Gaza buildings housing 20 media outlets was both shocking and predictable. History shows that if the media aren\u2019t around to document Israel\u2019s war crimes, it\u2019s a lot easier for it to commit them.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Israel bombed the 10-story Al-Jawhara Tower, causing it to collapse. Before doing so, it had \u2018benevolently\u2019 warned that the airstrikes were coming. The following day, it bombed the 14-storey Al-Shorouk Tower, also giving warning it was going to do so.<\/p>\n

Most reports have the buildings as evacuated before being levelled. But without these media offices, reporting on Israel\u2019s other war crimes will be left largely to what little media remain and citizen journalists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The buildings were significant. A\u00a0statement<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) noted the Al-Jawhara building housed the offices of 13 media institutions and NGOs. And an\u00a0advisory<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by the Committee to Protect Journalists noted that the Al-Shorouk building housed at least seven media outlets.<\/p>\n

A further\u00a0statement<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by the same committee said that the Israeli military had defended its bombing of the building via email, bizarrely claiming it had \u201cacted within international law,\u201d alleging the Al-Jawhara building housed Hamas\u2019 intelligence and military offices, and saying the Al-Shorouk building was a base for Hamas\u2019 military intelligence offices and \u201cinfrastructure to communicate tactical-military information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just minutes after the Al-Shorouk building was destroyed, I spoke by phone with Shadi Ali, a producer who had worked there for ten years and was understandably devastated at what had happened. He told me of previous occasions when Israel had bombed the building, in 2009, 2012, and 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there in 2012. My office was on the 14<\/em>th<\/em>\u00a0floor when it was hit at 6am. I was sleeping; I had only slept for one-and-a-half hours when it was hit by two missiles on the top floor,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he told me.\u00a0\u201cWhen it was bombed in 2014, we had taken precautions and left it already. They struck the 15<\/em>th<\/em>\u00a0floor, destroying it completely. Our floor became the top floor after that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The building was on a main Gaza street, Omar Mukhtar, surrounded by residential apartment buildings. I asked whether he knew if there had been casualties this time. He replied,\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re waiting, because often they\u2019ll strike again soon after, knowing that people have come to search for casualties.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve witnessed this tactic with my own eyes. In January 2009, while I was accompanying Palestinian Red Crescent medics, one of the bodies\u00a0the medics retrieved<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was that of a Kiffah Lum Towwak, 35, killed by an Israeli missile strike on her backyard in Jabaliya, just minutes after a strike which killed a family member living in the same house.<\/p>\n

The same month, I was inside the now-destroyed Al-Shorouk building, having just finished an interview with RT about what I\u2019d seen while riding in ambulances in the extremely dangerous areas of Gaza\u2019s north. Shortly after concluding the interview, Israel shelled the building at least seven times. Thankfully, the tank shelling didn\u2019t destroy the building, and we were able to run down the stairs to \u201csafety\u201d (although in reality nowhere was safe).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

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The Al-Shorouk building was again bombed a week after this.\u00a0Reporters Without Borders<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0the Committee to Protect Journalists<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0condemned the bombing and noted that the Israeli military had contacted Reuters (which had an office inside)\u00a0\u201cminutes before the attack to confirm the location of its Gaza office,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and had explained it would not be targeted.<\/p>\n

In November 2012, I\u00a0reported from<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0a hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, after Israeli attacks, and documented the\u00a0destruction of bridges<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and other infrastructure as well as visiting the media buildings which had been targeted. Iwrote<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0at the time,\u00a0\u201cAt least three Palestinian journalists were killed in the November 2012 Israeli attacks on Gaza, and at least 12 reported injured. The Sharook building suffered damage on its upper floors from a number of bombings including drone and possibly Apache helicopter missiles. The building housing Aqsa TV and various other media offices likewise suffered major damage on its upper floors.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The CPJ\u00a0reported<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cA series of airstrikes beginning early Sunday and continuing today targeted two buildings, Al-Shawa and Housari Tower and Al-Shuruq Tower, which are well-known for housing numerous international and local news organizations, news reports said. At least seven journalists were injured in the first attack. Khader al-Zahhar, a cameraman for Al-Quds TV, lost his right leg<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Having journalists on the ground in a place like this is critical. In previous wars on Gaza, Israel has committed a litany of war crimes, including in 2009 targeting with a flechette bomb and\u00a0killing a uniformed Palestinian medic<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as he worked to save injured civilians; firing more\u00a0dart bombs on mourners<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the following day, killing six, including a pregnant woman; targeting\u00a0with sniper fire<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0two medics I was with, during ceasefire hours;\u00a0assassinating children<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0infants<\/a><\/strong>;\u00a0drone-striking a 14-year-old<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0during ceasefire hours;\u00a0raining white phosphorous<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0down\u00a0heavily on civilian<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0areas\u00a0throughout Gaza<\/a><\/strong>; bombing a school\u00a0sheltering the displaced<\/a><\/strong>;\u00a0bombing hospitals<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0repeatedly shelling<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0a home Israeli soldiers had forced 60 members of an extended family into, killing 26, including 10 children and seven women.<\/p>\n

And that was only in 2009. In 2012 and 2014, Israel again committed more unspeakable crimes of war, destroying\u00a0entire neighbourhoods<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0massacring the residents<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0shelling children<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on a beach, and\u00a0drone-striking a teen<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0hours before ceasefire, among many others.<\/p>\n

And now, after a few days of Israeli bombardment,\u00a0horrific reports<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0are emanating from Gaza,\u00a0including<\/a><\/strong>accounts of Palestinians killed by what is believed to be toxic gas, and Israeli precision bombings\u00a0killing<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0entire families. As of May 14, Gaza\u2019s health ministry\u00a0reports<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0at least 119 killed, including 31 children.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, across occupied Palestine, Israelis are\u00a0calling for<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Palestinians\u2019 deaths, with a rabbi\u00a0allegedly saying<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cI call on you to kill all Arabs!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and others\u00a0using<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Facebook and Telegram to organize attack mobs. And it was recently\u00a0reported<\/a><\/strong>, \u201cIsrael\u2019s defense minister\u00a0Benny Gantz<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0threatened more destruction than he ordered in Gaza in 2014. At that time, he was Israel\u2019s chief of staff commanding the\u00a051-day assault<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, including 551 children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also reported is an Israeli MP\u2019s\u00a0call for<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the Israeli army to \u201cflatten the Strip.\u201d That is nothing new. As I\u00a0wrote<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in 2014,\u00a0\u201cDuring the eight days of slaughter,\u00a0<\/em>Israeli figures called<\/em><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to \u2018blow Gaza back to the Middle Ages, destroying all the infrastructure including roads and water,\u2019 and to \u2018Flatten all of Gaza. There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing,\u2019 said the deputy Israeli Prime Minister Eli Yishai and Gilad Sharon respectively.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Exactly
Exactly what RT is reporting:\u00a0Taking out the media to cover up war crimes!<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Israel\u2019s bombing spree of media targets has been rightly condemned. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate\u00a0stated that<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cthe targeting of media headquarters in the brutal bombardment of Gaza is part of the full-fledged war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>and called for the United Nations and the Red Cross\u00a0\u201cto provide urgent protection to journalists and the media, and to activate Security Council\u00a0<\/em>resolution 2222<\/em><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(which includes the protection of journalists) and oblige the occupation to fulfil [sic] this.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The CPJ\u00a0stated<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cIt is utterly unacceptable for Israel to bomb and destroy the offices of media outlets and endanger the lives of journalists, especially since Israeli authorities know where those media outlets are housed.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>And the International Federation of Journalists\u00a0said<\/a><\/strong>, \u201cThe international community cannot turn a blind eye to the systematic violations of human rights and the deliberate targeting of media and journalists. Urgent actions must be taken to hold those responsible for these crimes internationally accountable\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, while journalist protection committees have condemned the recent Israeli bombings of media buildings in Gaza, Western corporate media generally haven\u2019t. Imagine, though, if this was taking place in Syria: if Syrian or Russian planes premeditatedlybombed and levelled media buildings there. That would be front page news for days, if not weeks.<\/p>\n

I would go back to Gaza to report on this horror if I could enter, but that\u2019s impossible: Israel would not let me in, and is not allowing journalists in in general.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"Very
Nasty but unsurprising:\u00a0Drawing Hamas underground to bury them alive!<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIsrael will commit so many crimes in Gaza, while foreign media are not present,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Ali predicted. And he\u2019s right. As Israel\u00a0threatens<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to invade by land, the protection of media buildings and journalists becomes all the more important, because Israel will commit more war crimes. They\u2019ve\u00a0already pledged to<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0make Gaza burn.In December 2008, RWB\u00a0reported<\/a><\/strong>, Israel declared the Gaza Strip a \u201cclosed military zone\u201d and denied access to journalists working for international media. And now, as Shadi Ali told me the other day, Israel knows there are not many foreigners in Gaza to report what is going on. There is a media blockade, on top of the brutal siege of Gaza and Israel\u2019s bombardment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

___
\nhttps:\/\/jamesfetzer.org\/2021\/05\/israel-is-deliberately-obliterating-media-buildings-in-gaza-to-cover-up-the-war-crimes-that-will-follow\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israel is deliberately obliterating media buildings in Gaza to cover up the war crimes that will follow by Eva Bartlett<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}