Once again I am in awe of what journalism has become. How about Forbes' headline about Israel's "unprompted attacks on Gaza"? At least they deleted it. And now ABC News is coming along to tell us "what to know" about the war in the Middle East. Did they consult "experts"?
Without these pro journalists, how would we know that Israel's "military escalation" is going to make this bad for Gaza? A lot of people have said it, but again, it seems the narrative is going to be that Israel's response to the equivalent of several 9/11s is "disproportionate." Biden administration officials are calling for a cease-fire, now that Hamas has killed more Jews in one day since the Holocaust. I'm hoping the response is radically disproportionate.
Anyway, back to ABC News:
Israel's military escalation and siege are expected to worsen conditions in Gaza, a 141-square-mile stretch of territory that human rights advocates have called "an open-air prison."
— ABC News (@ABC) October 9, 2023
Here's what to know: https://t.co/4F1ICfsoG9
"Human rights advocates" — i.e., terrorist sympathizers. Who cares what they call it?
ABC News really should delete this, but the problem is not one single person who works there would see a problem with that tweet. I'm sure some pro-Palestinian activist group emailed ABC a press release about Israel's "military escalation" and gave ABC News the idea to run a story rewording it a little bit.
Awww....poor Palestinians in a prison! The Israelis should shut the prison down and kick all of them out into other countries so they can be free!
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) October 9, 2023
Suppose it were a prison (it isn't). The inmates would have just broken out and slaughtered over 1,100 people, including women and children, raping and burning as they went, and then went back into gen pop.
— Area Man (@lheal) October 9, 2023
Would you use the same lede?
Here's what to know: They elected Hamas to lead their city. Hamas is a terror group.
— Sandy 〽️ (@RightGlockMom) October 9, 2023
That's not Israel's problem, but glad to see who's side your on.
— JWF (@JammieWF) October 9, 2023
Escalation?
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 9, 2023
Escalation to what exactly?
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) October 9, 2023
Did… did Hamas write this
— Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) October 9, 2023
OK, let's check and see which human rights advocates ABC News spoke with:
Human rights groups, however, have faulted the blockade for worsening the economic conditions endured by people in the Gaza Strip.
The blockade caused $16.7 billion in economic losses between 2007 and 2018 -- an amount six times larger than the annual economic output in the Gaza Strip, a United Nations report found in 2020.
Moreover, the blockade raised the poverty rate fourfold than it otherwise would have been in the absence of the policy, the United Nations report found.
…
In recent years, human rights groups have warned that a renewal of military conflict between Israel and Hamas would exacerbate the dire conditions faced by Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
OK, they're going by the United Nations, the World Bank, and Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine. Those are the human rights groups they cited.
What does ABC News have to gain with coverage like this?
Let's hope Israel eliminates Gaza completely.
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