In the IDF’s four minute statement on their bombing of Al-Tabeen school this week we have identified five false claims and three misleading items.

The @guardian reports that the Israeli military has bombed 21 schools since July. Each time, they have claimed that the school was being used as a Hamas HQ. https://theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/11/this-has-to-stop-plea-survivor-israel-strike-gaza-tabeen

Hagari begins by claiming that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists abuse civilian populations to execute terror activities. This statement, whether true or false, does not justify the bombing of so-called “human shields.” Israel does not dispute that all casualties beyond the alleged H*mas leaders identified are civilians. Per the @ICRC, civilians are “entitled to protection against direct attack.” This attack constitutes a violation of international law. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/icrc-interpretive-guidance-notion-direct-participation-hostilities

Israeli military spox Hagari then claims Gaza hospitals are infiltrated & weaponized by Ham*s, incl. “terrorist tunnel shafts”. Israel has repeatedly been unable to prove this claim, even when escorting journalists into these tunnels early in the war.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/20/middleeast/gaza-tunnel-shaft-al-shifa-hospital-intl-hnk/index.html

Sometimes the Israeli military mistakes water wells at hospitals for “H*mas terrorist tunnels.” As per Al Quds News, Three months ago, Israel’s military claimed that it found a Hamas tunnel under Sheikh Hamad Hospital. Although the construction company, which built the hospital, stated that what appeared in the Israeli video was a water well, the Israelis continued to repeat their claim. After Israeli forces withdrew from areas in the northwest of Gaza,

@AlarabyTV correspondent visited the hospital to check on the alleged tunnel.

Similarly unsubstantiated claims in Hagari’s statement include Ham*s’ exploitation of school buildings, “intelligence” of militants operating out of Al-Tabeen school, and the presence of Ashraf Judah. A @EuromedHR report shows no such activity. [Initial Euro-Med Monitor investigation finds no evidence of military presence at site of Tab’een School massacre in Gaza https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6432/Initial-Euro-Med-Monitor-investigation-finds-no-evidence-of-military-presence-at-site-of-Tab%E2%80%99een-School-massacre-in-Gaza]

Hagari’s third false claim is the list of “terrorists” released by the Israeli military. This list includes at least already deceased people already deceased, as well as people who actively oppose Hamas and elderly people unable to execute military roles.

Muhammad Shehada @muhammadshehad2

Basically, what Israel did was bomb a random Fajir prayer at an overcrowded school, assuming Hamas members are religious, so there’d probably be some of them among worshipers They claimed to be targeting a nameless “senior commander” then took 16 hours to come up with names. Why 16 hours if they knew exactly who they were targeting? They waited for Gazans to post the names of their dead on social media, then the IDF picked up people at random who look pious or have Hamas sounding last names & made a “list”, b/c who’s gonna check? Mainstream media? Biden? the EU? A “military headquarters” & the most senior person in it is one sole alleged “platoon commander”? Was this garbage written by an intern? 3 of those people were killed in prior incidents, one of them in December! 3 are elderly civilians unfit to have any militant roles: a school principal, a deputy mayor & a university professor. 6 are civilians, some of whom are well known opponents of Hamas. The rest of the names are still being looked into. What on earth is “combat propaganda operative”? Someone filming with a camera Israeli atrocities? “Emergency committee operative” is basically a volunteer in a locally established entity to distribute humanitarian aid & food. Again, the single most senior name among those killed is an alleged “platoon commander”, i.e. commanding 20 foot soldiers. If you assume Israel isn’t lying about him either, is that sufficient to murder 100 civilians? The IDF claims the targeted “operatives” were planning attacks against Israel, seriously? when was the last time Hamas successfully attacked any target inside Israel since Oct 7?

Hagari claims that the “precision strike” targeted the alleged terrorists, some of whom were already deceased, in an area where “according to our intelligence, no women and children were present.” Based on video of the aftermath of the strike, this is patently false.

A misleading statement follows, suggesting casualty numbers from Gaza are unverified & unreliable. Historically, there has been no evidence of fabrication or inflation of these numbers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Health_Ministry

Notably, Hagari’s speech is nearly identical to Israeli govt talking points issued 9 months earlier by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs: “Israel’s strike was legitimate, we minimize harm to civilians in Gaza, we have to do this to return the hostages.”

swords-of-iron-updated-national-talking-points-12-11-23 Download

The claim that strikes like this will facilitate an end to the war and the return of the hostages is also false. Since the beginning of the war, Israel has repeatedly refused peace deals which would bring home every hostage. Biden has claimed that if only Ham*s returned all the hostages, the war would end. This is FALSE. And @potus knows this. Netanyahu said it directly to @secblinken, declaring he “will not agree to end the war” as part of a hostage deal.

For more details on the veracity of the IDF’s claims see: Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده @RamAbdu

So far, of the 19 names listed by the Israeli army as “eliminated terrorists” in the Tabi’een School massacre:
– 3 were killed in prior incidents.
– 3 are elderly civilians with no military ties: a school principal, a deputy mayor and a university professor.
– 6 are civilians, some even opposed to Hamas.
– Verification of the remaining names is ongoing.

Details continue to emerge about alleged Ham*s operatives Israel claims to have targeted at Al-Tabeen. This time the list includes people who are still alive.

The Israeli army added 12 new names two days after its attack on Tabi’een School, claiming they were resistance members. Upon initial review, it was found that the information about these names was misleading, with some of them having taken refuge in the school with their families, which disproves the possibility of the school being used for military purposes. The list also included the name of a child under 12 years old, who, according to civil records, resides in Jenin in the West Bank. Even when attempting to match the name claimed by the Israeli army with the names of the massacre victims, the closest match is still that of another child who was at the school and killed in the massacre. Additionally, there is another person listed who had previously been detained by the Israeli army and released without any charges being brought against him.

Initial Euro-Med Monitor investigation finds no evidence of military presence at site of Tab’een School massacre in Gaza
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6432/Initial-Euro-Med-Monitor-investigation-finds-no-evidence-of-military-presence-at-site-of-Tab%E2%80%99een-School-massacre-in-Gaza