Disinformation an Israeli tactic to shield eyes from true extent of suffering in Gaza
Ibrahim Hasouna, the sole survivor among his family, sits amidst the debris of his bombed home in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, last Tuesday. Picture: Fatima Shbair/AP
In a era of endless information, disinformation has become a key Israeli tactic to ensure the fog of war prevents the world from witnessing the true extent of suffering in Gaza.
Undermining and discrediting the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) and other internationally recognised organisations progresses Israel's immediate and longer-term objectives.
Not mincing his words, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said: "You attack UNRWA and you actually undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, you undermine the prospect of a Palestinian state. So that's really what is behind what has been a systemic, campaign of undermining UN agencies more generally by Israel — and more specifically UNRWA."
Over the past four months, we know that 1.9m people have been displaced in what had already been one of the most overcrowded areas on earth. Around 17,000 children have been orphaned and over 28,000 people have been killed.
The world has received graphic and disturbing snippets from Palestinian journalists in Gaza, who have risked and lost their lives. Information has also trickled out from the reports of international aid agencies that remain on the ground.
But there is so much that we simply do not know. As Martin put it:
With international journalists precluded from independently entering the strip — a few media workers have been embedded with the IDF — balanced and neutral reporting of what is happening is difficult.
Some media organisations have used technology such as satellite imagery, to get an overview of the destruction, including the controlled demolition of entire residential blocks, the targeting of burial grounds as well as the destruction of mosques and education buildings.
But in any conflict, witness accounts from credible sources are crucial.
As an intergovernmental organisation established after the Second World War with the aim of preventing future wars and maintaining international peace and security, the UN has been considered a trusted and reliable source.
UN staff work in the most hostile and difficult environments on earth to ensure civilians are protected, children are educated and highly vulnerable refugees are provided with food, emergency shelter, clothing and healthcare.
People like Unicef's James Elder have been invaluable in revealing to an international audience the reality of overcrowded hospital wards in Gaza with patients classified by the abbreviation WCNSF — wounded child, no surviving family.
Discrediting these organisations and their workers therefore casts doubt over the veracity of accounts provided by on-the-ground staff of the Israeli bombardment and ground offensive.
"I do believe it's both tactical and strategic. I think almost from the beginning of the war Israel has been undermining UN agencies more generally and the United Nations itself and specifically UNRWA," Martin said yesterday.
He then went further by suggesting that Israel is simply attacking UNRWA to deflect its own actions in the Palestinian enclave.
Claims that 12 UNRWA staff had been involved in the deadly Hamas terrorist attack of Oct 7 emerged on the same day that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an interim ruling in relation to the genocide case being taken against Israel.
Martin said it is "no coincidence" that the allegations were put out parallel to the South African case ruling in the ICJ, which also called for greater humanitarian aid into the strip.
The claims, which are now being independently examined, have not only cast a shadow over UNRWA's reputation, but have financially destabilised the organisation and threatened its very existence.
More than a dozen countries, including the US, Australia and Germany have suspended funding to UNRWA immediately after the allegations emerged.
Speaking after meeting Martin in Dublin, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the loss of around $450m in aid means the work of the agency will be "compromised" from March but will be in "deep, deep, deep, negative cashflow" from April.
Lazarini went on to say that to date Israel has not provided his agency with further detail or proof to back up the very serious allegations made against his staff, nine of whom have been sacked.
Speaking in Jerusalem last week Lazzarini said he made the “exceptional, swift decision” to terminate the contracts of the staff members due to the explosive nature of the claims and went on to describe it as “reverse due process”.
It will take some time for the allegations to be fully considered, but Martin appealed to his counterparts across the world to resume funding.
He said the international community needs to "wake up" to the fact that children will be unable to return to school and basic healthcare would not be provided without UNRWA.
"The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Instead, Israel has launched a disinformation campaign against UNRWA, sufficient aid is still not reaching civilians in Gaza and that is clearly unacceptable."
While having rogue actors or Hamas supporters among UNRWA's 30,000 employees is completely unacceptable it is not inconceivable.
This is why the allegations put forward by Israel must be investigated fully.
But the efforts to undermine UNRWA are also part of a longer-term game plan that if successful, could have far greater repercussions for the future of Gaza and its citizens.
Expressing further concern, Martin said he believes the use of "disinformation" is part of a "wider position" Israel is taking around right of return of refugees.
It could also impact any progression of the establishment of a Palestinian State or work to arrive at a two State solution, as without UNWRA neither of these will be possible.
"I don't think it's disconnected to the idea of a Palestinian State because the continuation of UNRWA is a absolutely essential for the Palestinian State to emerge," Martin said.
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