Israeli Propaganda Funding Of $150M To Dissipate Global Opinion Against Genocide, Yet Israel Bombs “Humanitarian Zone”?

A disturbing video circulating online shows Israeli forces targeting an ambulance in northern Gaza. The footage reveals a vehicle being struck, killing everyone inside, except for a child who was found 24 hours later.

Since the outbreak of hostilities in October 2023, reports indicate that over 50,000 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of the Israeli army, including around 42,000 recorded by the Gaza Ministry of Health, with the majority being women and children. Additionally, approximately 100,000 have been injured, with thousands of bodies still trapped under rubble and debris, inaccessible to rescue and medical teams.

In yet another incident a few days ago, Israeli forces stormed and set fire to Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last operational hospital in northern Gaza.

Described as “barbaric” by local authorities, the attack left the hospital in ruins, with operating rooms, emergency departments, and critical care facilities destroyed.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported that dozens of hospital staff, including director Hussam Abu Safia, have been detained for interrogation, and the fate of evacuated patients remains unknown. Communication with the hospital has been severed, leaving around 350 individuals—patients and staff—displaced.

Yet, despite these atrocities, Israel has allocated an additional $150 million in its 2025 budget to reshape global opinion on its military actions in Gaza, according to the Knesset.

This marks a dramatic 20-fold increase in funding for its propaganda efforts, known as “Hasbara.” The term refers to Israel’s attempt to justify and explain its policies, often seen as propaganda aimed at controlling narratives surrounding its actions.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar defended the move, stating: “Israel’s hasbara efforts and consciousness warfare have long lacked the critical resources they need. I am determined to change that. Every shekel spent on this cause is an investment, not an expense, and will strengthen Israel’s position globally.”

The expanded budget has the backing of American Jewish organizations that will target various platforms, including US college campuses, social media, and international press outlets, where pro-Palestine protests have occurred.

Critics argue that this massive investment aims to legitimize Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which have faced widespread international condemnation due to high civilian casualties and allegations of targeting civilian infrastructure.

In recent months, Israel’s attacks on medical facilities in northern Gaza have intensified, drawing heightened global condemnation. Yet, the Israeli government continues to justify its military operations, claiming they are aimed at targeting Hamas fighters.

Israel has consistently accused Hamas of using schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, and factories as military sites, and of employing Palestinian civilians as “human shields.”

To support these claims, Israel has released satellite images and excerpts from the alleged confessions of detained Hamas members. However, none of this evidence has been independently verified.

The lack of independent verification has fueled skepticism and criticism from international observers. Israel faces accusations of genocide in Gaza, with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant facing arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Bombing “Humanitarian Zone”

In a recent attack on a designated humanitarian safe zone in southern Gaza, at least 11 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The attack took place early on Thursday morning in the al-Mawasi area, which had been declared a “safe zone” by Israel. Among the victims were three children and two women. A video from the aftermath showed people searching for survivors amidst the rubble of burning tents. While 15 others were wounded in the attack, their condition remains unclear.

Israel’s military has not commented on this recent assault, which follows multiple airstrikes and artillery attacks on the area, including one on December 22 that killed eight people, including two children.

Just days earlier, Israeli tanks advanced on al-Mawasi, causing dozens of families to flee northward. On December 3, Israeli missile strikes on tents in al-Mawasi killed at least 20 people, including civilians, with Israel claiming the attack targeted a Hamas official.

On New Year’s Day, Israeli attacks across Gaza killed at least 26 people, including four children and a woman, with ten others reported missing. One attack in Jabalia, northern Gaza, killed 15 civilians sheltering in a home.

Israeli forces gave no warning for the recent attack on al-Mawasi but had earlier issued orders for all residents in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp to flee areas designated for attack. These warnings were described by Israel’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, as a “pre-anesthesia before the attack.”

“Once again, terrorist organisations are launching rockets from your area, which has been warned many times in the past,” he said in a post on social media.

Despite large parts of northern Gaza, including Jabalia, suffering almost three months of siege by Israeli forces, two United States-based defence think tanks said this week that Palestinian fighters had launched a coordinated, “multi-wave attack” on Israeli forces in Jabalia – one that was larger than most other Palestinian military operations across Gaza in recent months.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor Report

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has released a comprehensive report marking one year since Israel launched its devastating military campaign against civilians in the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023. The report states the severe war crimes committed by Israel during this period, and the explicit complicity of the international community in these actions.

Titled De-Gaza: A Year of Israel’s Genocide and the Collapse of World Order, the report outlines the most significant crimes committed over the past 12 months, meticulously documented by Euro-Med’s field teams.

It traces the clear elements of genocide carried out by the Israeli military, examines the legal frameworks defining genocide, and provides an in-depth analysis of the ongoing circumstances. Additionally, the report scrutinizes the international judiciary’s response and, importantly, the global community’s role in enabling the continuation of this genocide.

The report reveals the dire situation in Gaza, where an estimated 10 percent of the population has been killed, injured, detained, or gone missing due to Israeli military actions. Since the onset of the genocide, over 50,000 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of the Israeli army, including around 42,000 recorded by the Gaza Ministry of Health, with the majority being women and children. Additionally, approximately 100,000 have been injured, with thousands of bodies still trapped under rubble and debris, inaccessible to rescue and medical teams.

In terms of human cost, an estimated 10 percent of Gaza’s population has been directly impacted, including those killed, injured, missing, or detained. Of the 50,292 Palestinians killed, 33 percent were children, and 21 percent were women. Thousands have been forcibly detained, with 3,600 still held in Israeli prisons and detention centers.

The report also sheds light on the devastating impact on families, with around 3,500 families suffering multiple losses since October 2023. Among them, 365 families have lost more than ten members, while over 2,750 families have lost at least three.

Key acts of genocide documented in the report include the targeted killing of civilians in their homes, shelters, displacement camps, and areas designated as humanitarian zones. Civilians have been killed by military vehicles, tanks, drone strikes, in crowded markets, and even while waiting for aid at relief trucks.

The report further condemns Israel’s use of starvation tactics, the deliberate killing of prisoners and detainees, and the targeted assassination of humanitarian workers, medical professionals, and Palestinian leaders.

The Israeli army employs deliberate methods designed to cause severe physical and psychological harm to the population. These tactics include launching thousands of coordinated military assaults on civilians, significantly increasing fatalities among people of reproductive age, separating families, targeting the healthcare infrastructure, and creating harsh living conditions characterized by starvation and malnutrition.

The deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid worsens these crimes, putting thousands of lives in imminent danger.

At the root of this persecution is the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, which has set the stage for the ongoing genocide, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisory opinion on 19 July 2024 regarding the legal consequences of Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Both the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are internationally recognized as Palestinian territories that were occupied by Israel in 1967.

Until 2005, the Israeli military maintained both internal and external control over Gaza, stationing military forces within and around the Strip, and establishing settlements on its land—a situation still evident in the West Bank today.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally declared a “disengagement,” evacuating its settlers and withdrawing military forces from Gaza. However, despite this move, Israel continued to exert control over Gaza, holding real authority over key aspects of governance. This position was reaffirmed by the ICJ in a recent advisory opinion, reflecting the broad international consensus that Israel maintains de facto occupation.

Even after its military withdrawal, Israel retained control over essential governing functions in Gaza, including the population registry, borders (land, sea, and air), and the regulation of movement for people and goods. It also continued to collect taxes on imports and exports and controlled the buffer zone.

Following the 7 October 2023 attack, Israel declared a state of war, with its President, Prime Minister, and military leaders leading the charge. The declared objectives were to eliminate Hamas, secure the release of hostages, and restore security. This led to Operation Iron Swords, a brutal military offensive that further led to the suffering of Gaza’s civilians.