Information Warfare: Hamas and the Information War

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October 14, 2023: Hamas’ most recent war on Israel employs tactics that turn atrocities into a powerful information warfare weapon. The “surge” or ‘flood’ assault tactics make it difficult to identify Hamas fighters as combatants unless they are openly carrying a weapon. Hamas’ fighters try to hide among civilians –almost always Arab civilians. They use civilians as human shields when attacking Israel and when defending against Israeli counterattacks. If they capture Israelis or other civilians, these hostages become another type of human shield. If the  Arab human shields are hit by Israeli fire and become casualties, Hamas leaders call the dead Arab civilians involuntary martyrs for the cause.  If a hostage dies – death to the infidels. While Israelis and Western nations deplore Hamas’ intentionally ruthless tactics, defeating Hamas in a city fight or even a village often means killing civilians living in the area. The military term is collateral damage. The civilians were not targets, but they were in the battle zone. In death the dead become Hamas information warfare assets.  Hamas takes video of the damaged neighborhoods, the civilian dead and wounded then accuses Israel of intentionally committing atrocities. The information warfare mission is to persuade international media that the Hamas cause is just, so killing all Israelis, including women and children, is just.  It also provides international sympathizers with propaganda to condemn Israel and at the minimum claim at least “moral equivalency” between Israel and Hamas. Keeping civilians in the line of fire to provide cover for its fighters and provide horrifying information warfare imagery is why Hamas tries to prevent civilians from leaving areas it controls, especially Gaza city, even as Israeli forces prepare to attack. Hamas leaders believe there is no bad publicity when they wage war on Israel.

 As it is, in the current crisis Egypt has closed its borders to Palestinians seeking to flee Gaza. Egypt has economic problems and doesn’t want the refugee burden. It is also hostile to any pro-Iran activity within Egypt and knows Hamas cadres will enter with the refugees. For decades Iran has tried to undermine Egypt’s government.  Iran despises Egypt for making peace with Israel.  Worse yet, Egypt showed peace with Israel has benefits. Today Egypt and Israel allow their citizens to freely visit the other country.  Country to country trade is encouraged. Both nations have profited from the natural gas deposits discovered offshore in fields running from Lebanon to Egypt. While Israeli airstrikes have killed several senior Hamas leaders in Gaza, a Hamas leadership structure still exists outside the Gaza and the West Bank. Iran makes sure of that. Iran backs Hamas. Iran pays for training Hamas fighters and pays the organizational support costs. Iran paid for the thousands of rockets Hamas has fired at Israel in the current war. Iran condemns the U.S. for selling Israel modern strike aircraft. However, Iran has yet to pay a physical or information-political price for providing Hamas with the rockets hitting Israeli cities and settlements.

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