The American network NBC said that Israeli government accounts on social media published a video saying that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza,” which caused a huge uproar.
NBC confirmed that the video was deleted last Thursday, without it being clear whether Israel had deleted it or whether the X platform had deleted it.
She added that the video is still available on other official accounts, such as the accounts of the Israeli embassies in Lithuania and South Korea and its consulate in Los Angeles, USA.
The video, which has been viewed millions of times, appears to have been promoted through a paid advertisement, and includes a statement by previously released Israeli prisoner Mia Shem in which she says that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza.”
The Israeli video claims that Palestinian civilians participated in the Al-Aqsa Flood attack led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israeli settlements and military sites in the Gaza Strip on October 7, as well as participating in sheltering the prisoners captured by the movement during the attack.
A storm of anger
The video sparked a storm of criticism, with many commentators denouncing the video as an attempt to justify the killing of civilians as the devastating war in Gaza enters its ninth month.
NBC quoted war crimes researcher Mark Kirsten as saying, “The video published by official Israeli accounts is disgusting and repulsive. This is exactly what the perpetrators of atrocities are saying.”
Kirsten, who is also a professor of criminal justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada, added that international humanitarian law is largely based on the distinction between civilians and combatants.
Kirsten confirmed that this video is part of an Israeli government plan, as official accounts routinely published video clips and video advertisements in an attempt to influence Western public opinion and promote its war on Gaza.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its embassy in Washington, and its consulate in Los Angeles did not immediately respond to questions and requests for comment on the video.
The Israeli war on Gaza left more than 122,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
The Israeli occupation army continues this war, ignoring a Security Council resolution demanding that it stop the fighting immediately, and orders from the Court of Justice demanding that it stop its attack on Rafah, and take immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and “improve the humanitarian situation” in Gaza.