1) At the INSS, Assaf Orion looks at the implementation of Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.
“In addition, Hezbollah has sought indirect friction by encouraging southern villagers (and probably its own members) to swarm southward. Since January 26, twenty-six Lebanese have reportedly been killed while approaching IDF units. The LAF, meanwhile, called on the villagers not to return yet, then made feeble attempts to stop them, and finally assumed the role of protector while avoiding confrontation with the IDF.”
2) At WINEP, David Makovsky discusses ‘Brinkmanship Over Israel’s Ban on UNRWA’.
“After October 7, these grievances exploded when at least nine UNRWA employees were revealed to be involved in the atrocities committed that day. Additionally, Israel found Hamas members employed as principals and teachers in UNRWA schools, Hamas infrastructure and weapons in the basements of these schools, and Hamas data centers in tunnels underneath the agency’s headquarters in Gaza. UNRWA fired the employees implicated in the October 7 attack and claimed ignorance that Hamas was using its facilities, but Israel dismissed these denials as implausible. Since then, reports have emerged that three of the newly released Israeli hostages were held at one of the agency’s refugee camps for part of their captivity.”
3) At The Long War Journal, Joe Truzman provides analysis as ‘Hamas begins to publish the names of its dead members’.
“For most of the war, Hamas, other Palestinian terrorist groups, and their backers claimed Israel was waging a genocide against Palestinians. In part, to support this false assertion, Hamas and other Palestinian factions mostly refrained from publishing so-called martyrdom notices. The high death toll among fighters would have damaged the genocide narrative.”
4) MEMRI reports on the Qatari government media’s portrayal of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“Although Qatar helped to broker the recent Gaza ceasefire deal, its government media has been taking a flagrantly pro-Hamas and anti-Israel stance. This pro-Hamas bias is evident in headlines, articles, cartoons and social media posts by Qatari media figures that described the agreement as a “historic” and “crushing” victory for Hamas, the Palestinians, and Qatar, and as a complete humiliation for Israel that has “rubbed its nose in the dirt.””
5) On Wednesday February 5th CAMERA will hold a webinar titled ‘Casualties of War: Gaza Fatalities and Responsible Journalism’ with Andrew Fox and Tatiana Glezer.
“Media outlets have often taken Hamas-supplied casualty figures at face value, sidestepping the skepticism essential to credible journalism. Researchers have exposed numerous anomalies in these figures, raising questions about how they shape public perceptions.
Join us for a discussion on two groundbreaking studies shedding light on this issue:
“Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll From the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza” by the Henry Jackson Society
“Mislabeling on the Battlefield: How Mass Media Misrepresents Combatant Casualties as Civilian Deaths in Gaza Coverage” by Fifty Global
We will delve into crucial questions:
What do we know about the civilian versus combatant breakdown?
To what degree do journalists parroting Hamas figures fuel the false genocide libel?
What can and should be done to improve the coverage?”
Registration here.