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Propaganda of Victimhood: How Hamas Manipulates Global Sympathy

A Palestinian Hamas terrorist shakes hands with a child as they stand guard as people gather on the day of the handover of Israeli hostages, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Hamas has mastered the art of shaping Western public opinion to carry out its war against Israel.
A prime example is the BBC’s recent documentary from Gaza, narrated by the son of a Hamas commander, which was recently pulled from the BBC’s platforms and has prompted an investigation by UK counterterrorism police amid allegations that the corporation made indirect payments to the proscribed terrorist organization in breach of UK law.
Hamas Lectures on Morality — Seriously?
Last week brought yet another example of Hamas’ PR campaign strategy. Major news outlets — including NPR, BBC, and The Guardian — uncritically quoted Hamas press releases regarding the halt of humanitarian aid. They presented these statements as if they came from a legitimate government genuinely concerned for civilian lives, rather than from a genocidal terrorist group that has used civilians as human shields for years.
Consider Hamas’ statement by Osama Hamdan, Hamas’s senior official:
Netanyahu’s decision to stop humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime, and a blatant coup against the agreement. The mediators and the international community must move to pressure the occupation and stop its punitive and immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.
Then there’s The Guardian, amplifying Hamas’ call for the world to pressure Israel to open the crossings for “life-saving humanitarian aid.”
The headlines from the Reuters World News daily podcast:
– Israel blocks aid into Gaza as ceasefire standoff escalates
– Andrew Cuomo running for New York City mayor after resigning governor post https://t.co/O5qwn6uX3N pic.twitter.com/KMhN00xB4p— Reuters (@Reuters) March 3, 2025
Pause for a moment.
Hamas — an organization that has kept hostages in inhumane conditions for over 500 days — is accusing Israel of “cheap blackmail.” Hamas, responsible for torturing and executing both Israelis and Palestinians, and whose October 7 atrocities have been described as worse than the Nazis’, now claims Israel is engaging in “immoral measures.”
Hamas — a designated terrorist organization by the US, EU, and numerous other nations — is calling on the “international community” to intervene on its behalf.
Still unsure about Hamas’ broader goals? Here’s a passage straight from ISIS’s Dabiq magazine, which clarifies the ideology shared by Islamist groups:
Just as your disbelief is the primary reason we hate you, your disbelief is the primary reason we fight you… We have been commanded to fight the disbelievers until they submit to the authority of Islam, either by becoming Muslims or by paying jizyah—and living in humiliation under the rule of the Muslims.
Famine with the Feasts?
Hamas’ latest attempt to manipulate global sympathy has emerged amidst the announcement by Israel to suspend humanitarian aid to Gaza until all the hostages are released. The storyline in most media reports is predictable: Gaza is on the brink of famine, and if Israel halts aid, starvation will be imminent.
What’s missing from the coverage?
The fact that claims of mass starvation — debunked by researchers — predated Israel’s decision to condition aid on hostage releases. Also missing is the fact that Israeli officials report that recent humanitarian aid deliveries have been enough to sustain Gaza’s population for months.
Journalists are, of course, free to question Israeli sources. But ignoring this information entirely? That’s not journalism.
Meanwhile, images from recent Ramadan celebrations in Gaza stand in stark contrast to media claims of imminent famine.
Photographs of long tables laden with food — including fresh vegetables — circulated widely, even as reports framed Gaza as teetering on the edge of starvation. Somehow, on the same day, media outlets managed to push two contradictory yet equally pro-Hamas narratives: that famine is looming due to Israeli aid restrictions, and that Gazans are gathering for Ramadan feasts despite the destruction around them.
Despite the headlines, there was never actually a famine in Gaza. Aid is stockpiled, markets are full, and bakeries are open. The real crisis? Hamas steals, controls, and profits from the aid.
Don’t fall for the media’s narrative—see the proof for yourself. pic.twitter.com/j3dgy3xYAg
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 4, 2025
Many outlets quoted Fatima Barbakh, a woman from Khan Younis, lamenting that she could only afford the essentials this year and couldn’t buy Ramadan decorations.
The New York Times similarly reported from Gaza: “Many goods—like frozen chicken and cooking gas—are now in shops and street markets, although others, like chocolate, are still scarce.”
While these accounts naturally evoke sympathy for those enduring war, they hardly depict a population on the brink of starvation.
Price Spikes — What Would a Responsible Government Do?
It’s true that following Israel’s announcement, food prices in Gaza have surged. The real question is: what would a responsible government do in such a crisis?
A government that genuinely prioritizes its people’s well-being might do any of the following:
- Secure aid by releasing hostages.
- Stockpile food.
- Regulate prices to prevent exploitation.
Hamas has done none of these. Instead, reports indicate its operatives loot aid shipments and use Gazans’ suffering as leverage for international concessions.
Geneva Conventions and the Reality in Gaza
The Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 55) requires an occupying power to ensure basic provisions for civilians. But Gaza is not a conventional warzone, and the Geneva Conventions were not written with groups like Hamas in mind.
Historically, civilian and military populations were distinct. That distinction collapses in Gaza, where Hamas deliberately blurs the lines. Civilians do not hide hostages. Civilians do not take selfies with the bodies of murdered men, women, and children. Civilians do not cheer as terrorists parade kidnapped children through the streets.
Even the Nazis wore uniforms. Hamas embeds itself within civilian areas precisely to make these distinctions impossible.
Are there Gazans who don’t support Hamas? Certainly. But all available data suggests they are the minority. The prevailing reality is that civilians are indistinguishable from those who celebrate terror, carry weapons, and shelter hostages in their homes. And the media’s willful blindness to this fact isn’t journalism — it’s complicity.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
In a warning sign for the campaign of Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani, a majority of city voters in a new poll say the candidate’s hardline anti-Israel stance makes them less likely to vote for him.
In the survey of likely city voters conducted by American Pulse, 52.5 percent said Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” coupled with his backing of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made them less likely to vote for him in November. Just 31% of city voters polled were more likely to support him because of these positions.
At the same time, a significant share of young New York City voters support Mamdani’s anti-Israel positioning, a striking sign of shifting generational views on Israel and the Palestinian cause.
Nearly half of voters aged 18 to 44 (46 percent) said the State Assembly member’s backing for BDS and “refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’” made them more likely to support him.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has been under fire for defending “globalize the intifada,” a slogan many Jewish groups associate with incitement to violence against Israel and Jews. While critics argue it glorifies terrorism, supporters claim it’s a call for international solidarity with oppressed peoples, especially Palestinians. Mamdani has also voiced support for BDS, a movement widely condemned by mainstream Jewish organizations as antisemitic for singling out Israel.
The generational divide exposed by the poll comes amid a broader political realignment. Younger progressives across the country are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, especially in the wake of the Gaza war, and more receptive to Palestinian activism. But to many Jewish leaders, Mamdani’s rising support is alarming.
Rabbi David Wolpe, visiting scholar at Harvard University, condemned the phrase with a sarcastic analogy.
“‘Globalize the intifada’ is just a political slogan,” he said. “Like ‘The cockroaches must be exterminated’ was just a housing authority slogan in Rwanda.”
Jewish organizations have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents in New York and across the U.S. since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last fall. The blending of anti-Zionist slogans with calls for “intifada,” historically linked to violent uprisings, has deepened fears among Jewish communities that traditional red lines are being crossed.
Whether this emerging coalition reshapes New York politics remains to be seen. However, the poll indicates that among younger voters, views that were once considered fringe are quickly moving into the mainstream.
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Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events

A Jewish gay pride flag. Photo: Twitter.
The research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released a report on Wednesday detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place last month during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ rights and identity.
Incidents reported by the group include:
- At a Pride march in Wales, the activists Cymru Queers for Palestine chose to block the path and show a sign that said “Profiting from genocide,” an attempt to link the event’s sponsors — such as Amazon — to the war in Gaza.
- A Dublin Pride march saw the participation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which labeled Israel a “genocidal entity.”
- In Toronto at a late June Pride march, demonstrators again attacked organizers with a sign declaring, “Pride partners with genocide.”
CAM also identified a recurring narrative deployed against Israel by some far-left activists: so-called “pinkwashing,” a term which the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls “an Israeli government propaganda strategy that cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights to project a progressive image while concealing Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies oppressing Palestinians.”
The report notes that at a Washington DC Pride event in early June Medea Benjamin, cofounder of activist group Code Pink and a regular of anti-war protests, wore a pair of goofy, oversized sunglasses and a shirt in her signature pink with the phrase “you can’t pinkwash genocide.”
Other incidents CAM recorded showed the injection of anti-Israel sentiment into Pride events.
A musical group canceled a performance at an interfaith service in Brooklyn, claiming the hosting synagogue had a “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions.” In San Francisco before the yearly Trans March, a Palestine group said in its announcement of its participation, “Stop the war on Iran and the genocide of Palestine, stop the war on immigrants and attacks on trans people.”
CAM notes that this “queers for Palestine” sentiment is not new, pointing to a 2017 event wherein “organizers of the Chicago Dyke March infamously removed participants who were waving a Pride flag adorned with a Star of David on the grounds that the symbol ‘made people feel unsafe.’”
In February, the Israel Defense Forces shared with the New York Post documents it had recovered demonstrating that Hamas had tortured and executed members it suspected of homosexuality and other moral offenses in conflict with Islamist ideology.
Amit Benjamin, who is gay and a first sergeant major in the IDF, said during a visit to New York City for Pride month that “All the ‘queers for Gaza’ need to open their eyes. Hamas kills gays … kills lesbians … queers cannot exist in Gaza.”
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IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.
Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.
Iran’s parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.
“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said on X.
Diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors’ safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.
Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“[Grossi] reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” the IAEA said.
The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tonnes of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.
As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.
“We cannot afford that … the inspection regime is interrupted,” Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.
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