{"id":246440,"date":"2023-10-23T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T11:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=246440"},"modified":"2023-10-19T06:09:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T05:09:55","slug":"atrocity-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/10\/atrocity-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Atrocity Propaganda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gaza under Israeli bombardment, Oct. 11, 2023
(Courtesy of MedGlobal, \u00a92023, All Rights Reserved)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Israel and its supporters in the West are helping to provide psychological cover for an ongoing massacre of Palestinian civilians. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

17 Oct 2023<\/em> – As merciless<\/a> bombing in Gaza continues<\/a>, Israel and its supporters have weaponized dead Israeli children and false narratives about them to justify massacring Palestinian children on an unimaginable scale in Gaza.<\/p>\n

First it was the \u201c40 beheaded babies<\/a>\u201d story, then it was a series of images of apparently burned infants, which whether fake or real, were published by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to further justify Israel slaughtering thousands of Palestinian children.<\/p>\n

And slaughter we have seen. Israel so far has killed over 2,800 Palestinians, over 1000<\/a> of them children. Israel was reported to have bombed a pediatric hospital<\/a> in Gaza with illegal white phosphorus<\/a>, and shelled at least one school<\/a> where dozens of children and their families sought shelter, killing at least 27 children. Entire extended families wiped out<\/a> in their homes.<\/p>\n

Civilians were told to flee to Southern Gaza, a potentially official ethnic cleansing in itself (if they are never allowed to return), before being<\/a> bombed<\/a> in their attempt<\/a> to flee<\/a>. (Israel says those were Hamas IEDs in the road to prevent people from leaving.) Medics were shelled<\/a> in their effort to help the injured. \u00a0[The WHO decried<\/a> an Israeli order to evacuate 2,000 patients from 22 hospitals to southern Gaza.]<\/p>\n

Dozens of journalists have been killed<\/a>, or witnessed the death<\/a> of their own families. Images and videos of dead<\/a> Palestinian children<\/a> pulled from the rubble have flooded social media (before Israel cut off<\/a> the internet). All of this was achieved under a cloak of respectability in Western media by using the images and stories of killed Israeli children.<\/p>\n

After the initial Hamas surprise attack, an oft-repeated rallying cry of Israel apologists was that Hamas had beheaded 40 Israeli babies. Despite the claims being referenced publicly by U.S. President Joe Biden<\/a> (since walked-back by the administration), there has to date been no confirmation<\/a> of such a story. According to The Grayzone<\/em><\/a>, the claims were sourced to \u201cDavid Ben Zion, a Deputy Commander of Unit 71 of the Israeli army who also happens to be an extremist settler leader who incited violent riots against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank earlier this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forced to Apologize<\/strong><\/p>\n

CNN journalist Sara Sidner, who first aired the narrative, was forced to publicly recant<\/a> and apologize for her statements:<\/p>\n

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\u201cYesterday the Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s office said that it had confirmed Hamas beheaded babies & children while we were live on the air. The Israeli government now says today it CANNOT confirm\u00a0 babies were beheaded. I needed to be more careful with my words and I am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Yesterday the Israeli Prime Minister's office said that it had confirmed Hamas beheaded babies & children while we were live on the air. The Israeli government now says today it CANNOT confirm babies were beheaded. I needed to be more careful with my words and I am sorry. https:\/\/t.co\/Yrc68znS1S<\/a><\/p>\n

— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) October 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n