world news
Hostage releases and reunions clouded by Hamas’s psychological warfare
Israelis were glued to their TV screens over the weekend, waiting for a first glimpse of the hostages being released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal between the terrorist organization and Israel. The unfolding drama had all the makings of an Oscar-winning psychological thriller; there was a mixture of suspense and horror, followed by relief and emotional scenes of relatives reunited, some of whom learned for the first time that other loved ones were still in captivity or had been murdered.
“Hamas understands Israel’s soft spots and uses them in a cynical and manipulative manner,” Dr. Gal Yavetz, from Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Information Science, told The Media Line.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas began almost two months ago, psychological warfare has been an additional arena in which both sides are fighting.
The October 7 massacre
On Oct. 7, Hamas conducted a surprise offensive during which hundreds of terrorists—mainly but not solely from Hamas—stormed Israel’s border. They raided communities, military outposts, and a music festival, murdering approximately 1,200 people, the majority of whom were Israeli civilians. They also abducted 240 people, taking them into captivity in the Gaza Strip.
The attack shocked Israel, catching it off guard. Its scope astounded the country as it woke up to what was supposed to be a festive Jewish holiday. Israelis were stunned to see the attack on their country streamed live on Facebook. In addition, images of youngsters being led into captivity were seen on Telegram, and videos of terrorist-filled pick-up trucks driving through Israeli cities and terrorists banging on people’s doors were circulated in the early hours of the attack, leaving a lasting impression.
“This war is unprecedented in the amount, volume, and length of the message being dispatched online,” said Yavetz. “This is the most online war ever in the world. We are witnessing both sides using the online arena in a very precise way to turn to each other and to the rest of the world.”
“There was intentional usage of any digital platform possible, including bodycams, in order to create panic and spread fear,” Yavetz added.
Psychological warfare is not new and has been employed by warring sides for years. It is used to manipulate information or to demoralize the enemy, but since the dawn of the digital age, it has become easier to reach larger audiences.
“Before and after a war, the aim of psychological warfare is to sway opinion, but during the war, the aim is to change behavior,” Dr. Ron Schleifer a researcher on psychological warfare from the School of Communication at Ariel University, told The Media Line. “For Hamas, who has no cannons or fighter jets, it is their way to convince the other side not to pull the trigger, or at least use less firepower. They believe this will yield the same result.”
Hamas may not be entirely wrong. The war plunged Israel into a major crisis. In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ massacre, Israel promised a massive retaliation, one that would end with Hamas being overthrown from power in the Gaza Strip. Just hours into the crisis as Israel was still struggling to cope, the Israeli military officer in charge of liaising with the Palestinians posted a video on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Hamas opened the gates of hell on the Gaza Strip, Hamas made the decision and Hamas will bear the responsibility and pay the price,” threatened Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. His post was circulated widely, using social media to spread the word and instill fear.
But what further complicated the crisis and served as fertile ground for more psychological warfare and misinformation was the presence of a large number of hostages in the hands of Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, far from Israel’s reach.
Take Hanna Katzir, an example that terrorist organizations tried to use to influence public opinion in Israel. An elderly Israeli woman who was abducted during the Oct. 7 surprise offensive, Katzir was apparently held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), who, in an attempt to pressure Israel, said she was killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
However, over the weekend, Katzir was one of 26 Israeli civilians released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel.
At the beginning of the war, the Israeli government promised to topple Hamas and free all of the hostages. In so doing, one of Israel’s goals was to eliminate Hamas’ intricate web of underground tunnels, which requires the need to use massive firepower as well as forces on the ground. However, for relatives of the hostages, many of whom are believed to be held in those very tunnels, an Israeli military operation could risk their lives.
Ahead of Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, fearful relatives of the hostages sat in TV studios, expressing their fear that such an operation would be detrimental to attempts to free their loved ones.
Throughout the war, Hamas and PIJ have tried to take advantage of the public debate in Israel between those in favor of a massive military offensive against Hamas and those who wanted to secure the release of all 240 hostages before pounding the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, Hamas published a video of another elderly hostage, lying on a bed, attached to monitors. The video shows what appears to be the last moments of his life; afterward, he is shown dead, covered in white sheets.
There were other such videos and announcements as the fighting between Hamas and Israel has raged.
“Hamas’ goal is to convince [others that] they are right,” Schleifer said. “In order to do that, they need to frustrate the other side. They show a snuff video, causing Israel great frustration and helplessness.”
“It is a very delicate balance in which Hamas needs to be careful it doesn’t increase the motivation on Israel’s side. It’s about finding the balance between hurting the enemy but not too much so that it doesn’t go crazy,” Schleifer added.
Israeli media has refrained from broadcasting the videos released by Hamas and the PIJ, in which the hostages are portrayed in varying scenarios. In one of the videos, a hostage read a statement in which she accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not protecting citizens, claiming they were paying the price for his ‘negligence and failure.’ She was also released over the weekend.
“Hamas is clearly the one setting the tone here from day one, taking the lead in the psychological warfare,” said Yavetz. “Israel is lagging behind.”
With Hamas at a disadvantage against Israel’s military might, it has no choice but to invest more in psychological warfare.
Also worth noting is that the majority of Arab countries surrounding Israel are not democracies, and, therefore, “propaganda is used for the legitimacy of the regimes themselves, leaving Israel decades behind in this arena,” according to Schleifer, who has authored a book titled Psychological Warfare in the Arab-Israeli Conflict. He also said that Hamas has been aided by Qatar in this arena, in addition to the millions of dollars it is believed to have given the terrorist organization.
“Qatar has invested billions of dollars in American academia, as have other Arab countries, in order to promote a positive image of the Arab world and not to have certain truths be, or some of its policies recognized,” Schleifer said. “As part of this, the universities have been targeted in recent decades, in order to educate the future generation of leaders in the Western world.”
During the war, Qatar has been playing a major mediating role between Hamas and Israel, positioning itself in the middle despite its clear, years-long association with the radical Hamas. There has been criticism in Israel against Qatar’s involvement. However, in its efforts to bring the hostages home, the Israeli government has decided to overlook Qatar’s alliance with Hamas.
The ceasefire is expected to continue until Monday as more hostages begin to be released by Hamas. All the while, more psychological warfare will likely be employed—and the suspense will continue.
Three soldiers became the latest targets of anti-Israel organizations seeking to doxx and level legal challenges against Israeli servicemen abroad.
The Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) called for the arrest of three Nahal Brigade soldiers for alleged war crimes after they entered the Netherlands on Thursday. The March 30 Movement branch submitted a complaint the same day, charging that the Granite battalion soldiers had been involved in operations in which Gazan homes were burned and the Rafah crossing was damaged without any military necessity.
The disruption of the Rafah crossing constricted the flow of aid in an act of “weaponized famine,” the group said.
The three soldiers were named on social media, and their pictures were shared by the foundation. The doxxing came days after the group filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court against a soldier and called for his arrest while he was visiting the United Arab Emirates.
Many of the foundation’s accusations do not list specific actions by soldiers but place them within Gaza or the West Bank during operations.
Other allegations and doxxing, such as those against an Israeli reservist officer who had to flee Cyprus in mid-November, are based on video and photographs posted by the soldiers on social media. Ynet reported that the officer coordinated his departure from the country with the Israeli Foreign Ministry after the HRF called on Cypriot officials to arrest him over two videos in which he allegedly burned and called to destroy Gazan civilian objects.
Following the November 21 ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, the foundation called on the international body to also issue warrants against 1,000 IDF soldiers listed in an October 8 dossier it filed to the ICC.
The HRF claimed that it had gathered 8,000 pieces of documentation detailing the destruction of infrastructure, occupation of civilian homes, looting, participating in a blockade of Gaza, and targeting civilians. The documentation reportedly included soldiers boasting “about their war crimes on social media, sharing photos and videos of their participation in the destruction and occupation of Palestinian homes and properties.”
Some of the soldiers had dual citizenship, including 12 French, 12 American, four Canadian, three British, and two Dutch citizens.
More than one group targeting Israeli soldiers
The HRF is not the only group doxxing IDF soldiers who have participated in the war.
The Israel Genocide Tracker X/Twitter account, which has over 160,000 followers, shares the names and pictures of soldiers who had allegedly been in Gaza. Many of those identified by the account are dual-nationals, such as an American-Israeli Golani Reconnaissance battalion sniper doxxed on Saturday.
“We firmly believe that every soldier who entered Gaza is complicit in the genocide,” the group said in a social media post last Monday, defending their operations from those arguing that the account’s posts interfered in ongoing legal and journalistic investigations.
“We will soon release comprehensive lists of soldiers’ names to support international legal actions. We are already collaborating with various human rights organizations that rely on our data to pursue justice.”
Telegram channels published a file allegedly containing the personal information of several thousand soldiers and security officials last Sunday.
The viability of the legal cases against these soldiers is unclear, according to legal experts, with the main objective being the intimidation of IDF soldiers.
Universal jurisdiction
NGO Monitor legal adviser Anne Herzberg said that it is difficult to know if individual cases are actionable without knowing their specifics, but there was concern that courts in countries with weak judicial systems and inadequate due process could be exploited, and warrants could be issued based on “flimsy evidence” and “no advance notice.”
“Anti-Israel NGOs have pushed universal jurisdiction cases against Israeli military and government officials for years as a complement to their lobbying for ICC proceedings,” said Herzberg.
“The shift by these groups to the targeting of thousands of lower-ranking dual-national Israelis has two purposes. First, these cases are about generating negative PR – to internationally tarnish the IDF by delegitimizing and criminalizing IDF service. The second purpose is to deter dual nationals from serving in the IDF for fear they might be subject to criminal proceedings if they return to their countries of origin.
“This second purpose constitutes a military and national security threat and should be taken very seriously by both Israeli and Western officials. It should come as no surprise that several of these NGOs have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, or other terror organizations.”
International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky said that these lawfare campaigns were “entirely without merit and no more than political stunts” but noted that “given the changing political climate and growing hostility against Israel in some parts of Europe, there is no guarantee that some countries will not entertain this charade in the future.”
“As a response to this growing threat, Israel should consider adopting a US-style American Service-Members’ Protection Act, which authorizes the use of all means necessary to secure the release of American soldiers and persons taken captive by, on behalf, or at the request of the International Criminal Court, in this case being equally applicable if IDF soldiers (or former soldiers) were detained on the instructions of the ICC and/or individual countries,” said Ostrovsky.
“The United States, which is currently putting a devastating sanctions framework [together] against the ICC over their issuing of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, should sanction any country that not only seeks to apply the ICC warrants but takes individual actions to arrest IDF soldiers.
“And lastly, Israel should also make it a priority to sign bilateral immunity agreements with other countries, acknowledging the independence of Israel’s judicial system and undertaking not to arrest any IDF soldiers, whether current or former, thereby allowing Israelis the ability to travel freely, without fear of arrest.”
world news
Israeli Law Center representing IDF soldiers condemns ICC Indictment of Netanyahu and Gallant
The Shurat HaDin Law Center, which has been leading the fight against efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Israeli officials, officers, and troops, has condemned the court in The Hague for its efforts to unjustly arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant.
Shurat HaDin has argued in recent briefs submitted to the ICC that the Chief Prosecutor does not have proper jurisdiction to indict Israeli leaders or soldiers as Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Treaty and that the Palestinian Authority is not a state, as is required to be a member of the ICC. Moreover, they allege that the Chief Prosecutor has displayed his bias and anti-Israel slant by refusing to indict any meaningful members of the Hamas terrorist organization that attacked the Jewish State on October 7, 2023, murdering and kidnapping civilians.
According to Shurat HaDin President Nitsana Darshan-Leitner: “The ICC has finally revealed its extreme bias against Israel and its blatant antisemitism by filing indictments against Israel’s leaders. How shameful that instead of recognizing the murder, maiming, raping, and arson against innocent Israelis, they have chosen to take the side of the terrorist Palestinian groups and joined the fight against Israel. The ICC completely ignores the language of its own Rome Treaty and its deliberate limitations and instead finds skewed paths and unlawful justifications to bestow statehood on the Palestinians and assert legal jurisdiction over Israel. This extreme decision creates a dangerous precedent for the ICC to target other democratic armies and leaders. The Western democratic member states need to immediately protest and disavow the Court’s ruling. They must pledge to ignore the indictments against Israelis. We are calling on the US Congress, Senate, and Administration to finally sanction the ICC, its racist judges, and its chief prosecutor. They must take bold action against The Hague. Tomorrow, they’ll be indicting American officials and troops as well.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday put him at odds with the IDF regarding how many haredi the military can absorb in a short amount of time.
Netanyahu said that while he was in favor of increasing haredi integration into the IDF, in practicality, the military needed more time to establish haredi-tailored programs and environments for this to be successful.
The prime minister’s remark comes days after top IDF officials presented a series of highly specific, customized programs for the ultra-Orthodox that are either already open or are “ready to go” as soon as the haredi respond to their military summons. This directly contradicts the prime minister’s words during the briefing.
Netanyahu spoke to the committee in a closed and classified hearing, but portions of what he said were, nevertheless, publicized, including his comments regarding haredi integration into the IDF.
When asked about the issue, Netanyahu said, “We would prefer that anyone who is not studying [in a yeshiva] share the burden [of military service.] But right now, there is a gap between what the army says it can absorb and what it can absorb, so the absorption capacity of the IDF needs to be increased.”
He added that there were intentions to create new frameworks that would allow the haredi to maintain their way of life as well as to respond to operational needs, such as establishing an ultra-Orthodox base along the border with Jordan that would be responsible for defense there.
How to fulfill the IDF’s need for more soldiers
Besides that example, Netanyahu said that the army’s need for more soldiers could be filled by extending the service of mandatory service soldiers as well as calling up a variety of reservists from among the population living in border communities who never responded to their call-ups or were given exemptions.
In contrast to Netanyahu’s statements, seeming to indicate that the IDF cannot absorb a significant increase of haredi men, the military has said repeatedly, dating back to August, that it has been ready to receive an additional 3,000 haredi per year, on top of the approximately 1,800 per year it has already been absorbing.
The announcement in August and the sending of summons to 3,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community came after months of extensive work and the investment of significant resources to prepare both personnel and bases for a new, major influx.
One new option for service that the IDF has already added for the haredi to make their service more attractive is serving in technical and logistical capacities at hardened aircraft shelters at an air force base section where only men will serve.
Another new option is called the Yoav Track in logistics command centers, which includes fulfilling a wide variety of technical and logistic roles throughout the military, and not just in the Israel Air Force.
Also, though Netanyahu said that the IDF should look into forming a new haredi brigade, the military had already announced last week that on December 26, it would open one, distinct from Netzach Yehuda.
Netzach Yehuda had been the brigade that most of the haredi wanted to join to date. However, it has turned off many of the ultra-orthodox because it has a reputation for being more religious Zionist in nature than haredi.
Additionally, there is a recently established unit of haredi serving at the Ofer detention center, and that program is expected to grow.
Further, a Lt.-Col. with a hassidic Chabad background, who has joined the army. He will be focused on haredi affairs and making sure new inductees are comfortable and are having their needs addressed.
Despite a detailed presentation last week about all of these new service mediums as being already established for haredim, a spokesperson for Netanyahu doubled down on the claim that the IDF was still lacking in its capacity to absorb a major influx of haredi soldiers.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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