Israel-Hamas Thread II

[essentialsaltes]

Israel says it will bar [certain] aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, from Gaza​

Israel failed to confirm that the data collected from the new regulations wouldn't be used for military or intelligence purposes, raising serious security concerns, said Athena Rayburn, the executive director of AIDA, an umbrella organization representing over 100 organizations that operate in the Palestinian territories.

 

[Benaiah468]

Israel says it will bar [certain] aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, from Gaza​

Israel failed to confirm that the data collected from the new regulations wouldn't be used for military or intelligence purposes, raising serious security concerns, said Athena Rayburn, the executive director of AIDA, an umbrella organization representing over 100 organizations that operate in the Palestinian territories.

The announced revocation of licenses for dozens of aid organizations in the Gaza Strip has sparked international outrage. But to understand Israel's decision, one must take a closer look and allow for uncomfortable questions.

For Israel, this is not bureaucratic formalism, but a consequence of experiences in recent years. It has been repeatedly proven that employees of international aid organizations had ties to Hamas, that logistics were misused, or that infrastructure indirectly benefited the terrorist organization. In an area completely controlled by a terrorist organization, Israel believes that there is no clear separation between civil administration, aid work, and armed structures.

Criticism was swift. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called it an outrageous move and a further restriction of humanitarian access. Israel's actions are harming the suffering civilian population.

However, this description falls short. Israel does not prohibit humanitarian aid across the board. It demands transparency and control in a war zone where aid structures have been demonstrably abused.

The organization Doctors Without Borders, known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières, was particularly vocal in its criticism. It rejects the disclosure of sensitive employee data and warns against a breach of humanitarian principles such as neutrality and independence. Representatives of several organizations argue that Israel wants to influence personnel decisions without having to provide justification. From their point of view, there is a risk of arbitrariness.

But here, too, a crucial question arises. How neutral can humanitarian work be in an area controlled by a terrorist organization that systematically uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes? Israel is not demanding control over humanitarian programs, but rather the screening of individuals. In any other security-related context, this would be a matter of course.

The organizations concerned offered to have their employees vetted by neutral third parties. Israel rejected this proposal. The reason is obvious. For Israeli security authorities, outsourcing security checks in an active war zone is not an option. Responsibility for any consequences would still lie with Israel.

What is also missing from the international debate is the temporal context. The measure does not take effect immediately. Organizations have months to register or wind up their work in an orderly manner. Israel is relying on a transition period, not an abrupt halt to aid. This distinction is lost in the rhetoric of outrage.

The conflict reveals a fundamental dilemma. Humanitarian organizations insist on principles that work in stable regions. Israel operates in an environment where these principles have been systematically abused. Hamas has benefited from international aid for years, whether in the form of material, infrastructure, or political protection. This reality is deliberately ignored in many statements.

Israel is walking a fine line with its decision. Any restriction on humanitarian work is immediately judged morally by the international community. At the same time, the state has a responsibility to protect its population and prevent a repeat of the systematic abuse of aid structures. This responsibility cannot be delegated to the United Nations or non-governmental organizations.

The debate is therefore less a question of right or wrong than of perspective. For many international actors, Israel is the disruptive factor. For Israel itself, the measure is an act of state self-assertion in an asymmetrical conflict. Anyone who wants to talk seriously about humanitarian aid in Gaza must also talk about Hamas. And that is precisely what happens too rarely.

 

[Benaiah468]

Israel says it will bar [certain] aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, from Gaza​

UNRWA, the top U.N. agency working with Palestinians, has denied knowingly aiding armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants..

Israel's army has already disclosed evidence of Hamas's ties to Iran, UNRWA, and Al Jazeera.

The documents paint a shocking picture: Hamas systematically abuses aid organizations, media, and international networks, supported by Iran and covered up by Western naivety.

Particularly explosive is the evidence of personnel overlap between Hamas and UNRWA. The IDF published lists showing teachers, school principals, social workers, and medical personnel who are also listed as members of the Hamas brigades. The same individuals who were officially paid by the United Nations appear on Hamas documents with military identification numbers.

An evaluation also showed that UNRWA schools were used as meeting places and logistics centers for Hamas units, especially in Khan Yunis. Teachers who taught children during the day worked for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military backbone, at night.

Photos also prove that the UNRWA director in Gaza, Ashraf Mahd, is described in internal documents as someone who educates the next generation in the ideology of hatred.

According to the IDF, at least 15 journalists from the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera appear in the personnel directories of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. One of them, Ismail al-Ghoul, was directly involved in the massacres of October 7 as a Nukhba fighter.

The documents also show how Hamas deliberately controlled the flow of information from Al Jazeera: when rocket launches failed such as in Jabaliya in 2022, when a Hamas rocket killed its own civilians – the terrorist leadership ordered Al Jazeera not to express “any criticism” and to “avoid certain terms.” Another document stipulates that the broadcaster must instead support the “resistance movement.”

One particularly disturbing detail is that Hamas set up its own “Al Jazeera line”, a secure telephone connection through which propaganda material and instructions were exchanged directly. In this way, journalism became targeted war propaganda.

Among the published materials is a handwritten memorandum by Yahya Sinwar, dated August 2022. In it, the Hamas leader describes in detail how “shocking images”, executions, burning tanks, killed soldiers, should be deliberately disseminated in order to “explode” emotions and incite supporters in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem to revolt.

The text contains specific instructions for psychological warfare: the violence should take place as “close to the people” as possible, in schools, mosques, and residential buildings – so that Israeli counterattacks can be exploited propagandistically as “massacres of civilians.” This confirms what Israel has been claiming for years: Hamas uses its own population as human shields.

The financial trail also leads clearly to Iran. A letter found in the Gaza Strip proves that Tehran regularly transfers funds to “the families of martyrs.” Other documents refer to training programs, arms deliveries, and “strategic cooperation.” According to the records, Hamas planned a four-way alliance with Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria to prepare a coordinated offensive “to liberate Jerusalem.”

Another document entitled “Hamas–Humanitarian Aid Intelligence Resources” describes how terrorists confiscated aid supplies intended for the civilian population. Photos show Hamas members deep inside tunnels, eating fruit, meat, flour, and canned goods from aid deliveries while above ground, children are starving.

The documents that have now been published leave no doubt that Hamas is not an isolated actor, but part of a larger, ideologically and financially networked system. The connection between terror, international institutions, and global media power shows how deep the structures that undermine Israel's right to exist reach.

The fact that organizations that call themselves humanitarian or journalistic are playing a role here is a moral declaration of bankruptcy. These revelations have caused UNRWA to lose all credibility, and Al Jazeera has once again proven itself to be not a news channel, but a political tool of Qatar and its allies.

With this publication, Israel has not only provided evidence, but also a piece of truth that the world has long sought to ignore.

 

[Benaiah468]

While there is international talk of a ceasefire and reconstruction, Hamas is working on its own future inside the Gaza Strip. A "Palestinian" father describes how young people are systematically recruited, manipulated, and detained, not for ideological reasons, but out of necessity.

What he recounts is not a political analysis, but a sober report from within a society controlled by a terrorist organization. Mustafa is "Palestinian", a Fatah supporter, and a former member of the "Palestinian" security forces in Gaza. After Hamas violently seized power in 2007, he was forced to flee. His family remained behind.

A few months ago, his 16-year-old son was approached on the street. Three men, dressed in civilian clothes, no badges. They gave him the equivalent of around 200 shekels. No contract, no orders, no logo. Just one sentence: “Buy yourself something.” When the boy asked why, they simply replied that they were helping people. Shortly afterwards, the actual offer followed. Another 1,500 shekels if he was willing to work for them in the police force or other Hamas structures.

The boy was unsettled, went home, and told his older brother about it. His brother immediately recognized the danger. His advice was clear: don't accept anything, don't talk, keep your distance. In Gaza, this is not a matter of course, but a risk.

Mustafa describes the method as systematic. Hamas deliberately exploits poverty, lack of prospects, and the collapse of social structures. Young people, especially minors, are particularly vulnerable. Many families have hardly any food, no stable income, no prospects for the future. Money becomes a ticket to a dependency from which there is hardly any way back.

It didn't stop at money. A short time later, Hamas activists appeared at his family's house and offered food, flour, and support. His wife refused and explained that her husband sent money from the West Bank. That, too, was unusual. The refusal was noted.

An uncle of the family finally went directly to one of the Hamas men and warned him to stay away. An argument ensued. After that, the attempts to make contact stopped. Not every family has this leeway.

Mustafa speaks of deliberate indoctrination. First material aid, then ideological narratives, finally open threats. Anyone who wants to leave must pay back everything: money, food, support. For most young people, this is impossible. The result is coercion through debt. Hamas promises security, protection, a roof over their heads, and at the same time declares that the fight against Israel is heroic and without alternative.

According to Mustafa, Hamas is not concerned about the lives of these young people. He explained to his children that there is a political conflict, but that violence does not create a future. He raised them to live, to start families, not to die. It is dangerous to express this opinion openly in Gaza.

According to Mustafa, Hamas uses financial incentives as well as blackmail. Young people are arrested for minor offenses and then given a choice: cooperation or violence. A 17-year-old relative was arrested for theft. The threat was clear: cooperate or have your legs broken. He joined Hamas.

After the destruction of many mosques during the war, Hamas shifted its recruitment efforts to the streets. Public spaces, aid stations, food distribution points. Its influence is particularly strong in the central Gaza Strip, where, according to "Palestinian" sources, Hamas continues to operate almost unhindered and uses civilian infrastructure for reorganization.

Mustafa draws a clear conclusion from this. As long as Hamas retains control in these areas, any other order will fail. Not based on political theory, but on everyday experience. Anyone who wants to prevent Oct 7 from repeating itself must take away Hamas' ability to recruit, blackmail, and arm young people.

His account is not an Israeli narrative, nor is it an external assessment. It is the voice of a "Palestinian" father who tried to protect his children from an organization that markets itself as resistance but is destroying its own society from within.