In the bloody war between Israel and the militant Hamas, battles over opinions and positions are raging online. Pro-Palestinian groups and parts of the left-wing scene blame Israel for the war, citing history. Some even accuse the country of carrying out genocide in Gaza. In fact, the situation in the Middle East is more complex than some have portrayed; This shows, among other things, the region’s confusing settlement history.
The images of injured and killed civilians as well as the bombed-out houses in the Gaza Strip are fueling voices, particularly among critics of Israel, who hold Israel alone responsible for the conflict in the region and the suffering of the Palestinians. The country is allowed to defend itself loudly and within the framework of international law against the attacks by Hamas on October 7th.
However, there are countless posts circulating online that claim to prove genocide in the Gaza Strip. The author and former journalist Tarek Bae, for example, shared quotes from Israeli politicians and military members on Instagram. He himself is a member of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (Seta), which is close to the Turkish government. It is based in Berlin and serves the express purpose of influencing public opinion. Bae advocates for old Turkish-Islamic association structures; its role model is the Turkish-Islamic association Ditib. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Hamas as a “liberation group” that fights “to protect its country and its citizens.” Erdogan wants to break off relations with the Israeli Prime Minister.
The picture conveyed by author Bae on Instagram about Israel’s plans for the Gaza Strip is clear: the coastal strip is to be completely destroyed, without considering the civilians. Stern has fact-checked some of these quotes and checked where the statements come from and what context they actually have.
Claim: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to completely destroy the Gaza Strip. A tile that Bae posted on his Instagram account shows a quote from the Israeli prime minister, said to be from a televised speech on October 8, 2023. Netanyahu is said to have said: “We will make Gaza an island of ruins.”
Rating: False. The statement was taken out of context.
The facts: Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the people of Israel in a televised address on October 7, the day of Hamas’s bloody attack on Israel, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 abducted. The accompanying transcript of the speech can be found on the Israeli government website and is publicly available. In it, Netanyahu made it clear from the start that the Israeli retaliatory attacks were directed solely against the Hamas organization. The quote circulating online is incomplete and only translated roughly. According to the transcript, Netanyahu said: “All the places where Hamas is stationed, hiding and operating, this wicked city, we will reduce it to rubble.” He then called on the residents of the Gaza Strip: “Leave now, because we will use force everywhere.”
The transcript was released by the Israeli government on October 7, but was updated again the following day. Changes can no longer be traced back. In a compilation of the speech published by US broadcaster NBC News, Netanyahu is quoted as saying: “The Israel Defense Forces will immediately direct all their strength to destroy Hamas. We will destroy it and retaliate for this black man Day.”
Claim: Army member Ghassan Alian predicts hell for the people of Gaza. According to Bae’s post, the Israeli army major general reportedly said: “Beast people are treated accordingly, you wanted hell and you get hell.” According to Bae, the quote was said to have been shared on social media on October 9th.
Rating: Not entirely correct. The statement refers to Hamas and its supporters.
The Facts: It actually comes from a video from October 10th that’s been circulating on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. In the article, Alian addresses Hamas and the people of the Gaza Strip and criticizes the kidnapping, torture and murder of children, women and the elderly as inhumane. “There is no justification for this! Hamas has become ISIS and the citizens of Gaza are celebrating instead of being horrified. Human monsters will be treated accordingly.” Israel cut off the Gaza Strip’s water and electricity supplies. “You wanted hell, you get hell,” Alian ends his contribution.
In another speech on October 9, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found similar words. “This war has been forced upon us by a feared enemy, animals that kill women, children and the elderly.” Israel always knew who Hamas was, “now the whole world knows that Hamas is ISIS and we will defeat them, just as the Western world defeated ISIS, this terrible enemy.”
Claim: Israel’s army should bomb the Gaza Strip without regard for civilians. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari is credited with the following quote from October 10: “We are dropping hundreds of tons of bombs on Gaza. The focus is on destruction, not accuracy.” Hagari is said to have told the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz.
Rating: Not entirely clear. Several media outlets, including the Guardian, use the second half of the statement in their reports, but it is not always attributed to the army spokesman, but rather to the Israeli defense organization.
The facts: The IDF’s daily defense reports are publicly available on the Israeli Ministry of Defense website, but the widespread statements are not reflected there. There are also no posts with relevant information on the army spokesman’s Instagram or Twitter channels. Israel’s government and army have repeatedly called on civilians in the Gaza Strip to leave the north because of the announced ground offensive. The army currently wants to keep the corridors to the south open to civilians.
Claim: MP from the right-wing conservative Likud party, Tally Gotliv, calls for nuclear weapons to be fired at the Gaza Strip. “Jericho rocket! Doomsday weapon! That is my opinion. Powerful rockets should be fired without borders, Gaza should be smashed and razed to the ground. Without mercy!”, the Knesset representative is said to have written on the X platform on October 9th.
Rating: This is correct. The relevant posts were restricted due to violations of the rules for non-violent formulation on platform
The facts: Members of the right-wing conservative Likud party, which is headed by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have recently repeatedly attracted attention with sometimes drastic statements about the Gaza Strip. Gotliv called for a “Jericho rocket” two days after Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel. On October 10, she wrote: “Only an explosion that shakes the Middle East will restore the dignity, strength and security of this country! (…) Gaza will be destroyed and razed to the ground,” adding the lives of Israeli soldiers is more important “than the lives of all the people in Gaza.”
The right-wing Israeli minister of cultural heritage, Amichai Elijahu, also called the atomic bomb “one of the options” in the war against Hamas. The politician received criticism for this – including from Netanyahu. Most recently, MP Ariel Kallner called for a “Nakba” like the one that last took place in 1948. In his post on X, Kallner alluded to the sometimes bloody expulsion of Palestinians from what is now Israeli territory after the Second World War.
Sources: X (formerly Twitter), “Haaretz”, “The Guardian”, Instagram, CNBC, “Tagesspiegel”, NBC, Israeli government website
