October 14, 2023:
Hamas’ most recent
war on Israel employs tactics that turn atrocities into a powerful information warfare weapon. The “surge” or ‘flood’ assault tactics
make it difficult to identify Hamas
fighters as combatants unless they are openly carrying a weapon. Hamas’ fighters
try to hide among civilians –almost always Arab civilians. They use civilians
as human shields when attacking Israel and when defending against Israeli
counterattacks. If they capture Israelis or other civilians, these hostages
become another type of human shield. If the
Arab human shields are hit by Israeli fire and become casualties, Hamas
leaders call the dead Arab civilians involuntary martyrs for the cause. If a hostage dies – death to the infidels. While Israelis and Western
nations deplore Hamas’ intentionally ruthless tactics, defeating Hamas in a
city fight or even a village often means killing civilians living in the area.
The military term is collateral damage. The civilians were not targets, but
they were in the battle zone. In death the dead become
Hamas information warfare assets. Hamas
takes video of the damaged neighborhoods, the civilian dead and wounded then
accuses Israel of intentionally committing atrocities. The information warfare mission
is to persuade international media that the Hamas cause is just, so killing all
Israelis, including women and children, is just. It also provides international sympathizers
with propaganda to condemn Israel and at the minimum claim at least “moral
equivalency” between Israel and Hamas. Keeping civilians in the line of fire to
provide cover for its fighters and provide horrifying information warfare
imagery is why Hamas tries to prevent civilians from leaving areas it controls,
especially Gaza city, even as Israeli forces prepare to attack. Hamas leaders
believe there is no bad publicity when they wage war on Israel.
As it is, in the current
crisis Egypt has closed its borders to Palestinians seeking to flee Gaza. Egypt
has economic problems and doesn’t want the refugee burden. It is also hostile
to any pro-Iran activity within Egypt and knows Hamas cadres will enter with
the refugees. For decades Iran has tried to undermine Egypt’s government. Iran despises Egypt for making peace with
Israel. Worse yet, Egypt showed peace
with Israel has benefits. Today Egypt and Israel allow their citizens to freely
visit the other country. Country to
country trade is encouraged. Both nations have profited from the natural gas
deposits discovered offshore in fields running from Lebanon to Egypt. While Israeli airstrikes have killed several
senior Hamas leaders in Gaza, a Hamas leadership structure still exists outside
the Gaza and the West Bank. Iran makes sure of that. Iran backs Hamas. Iran
pays for training Hamas fighters and pays the organizational support costs.
Iran paid for the thousands of rockets Hamas has fired at Israel in the current
war. Iran condemns the U.S. for selling Israel modern strike aircraft. However,
Iran has yet to pay a physical or information-political price for providing Hamas
with the rockets hitting Israeli cities and settlements.
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