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The International Media Is Ignoring Any Stories About Hamas’ Brutality in Gaza and Public Opposition
Pro-Hamas protesters outside the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Photo: Ron Sachs via Reuters Connect
Much of the international media discourse on the Israel-Hamas war emphasizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s supposed refusal to develop or discuss what the “day after” will look like in Gaza once Israel completes one of its war goals, and eliminates Hamas’ military wing.
What the media hasn’t told audiences is that Hamas has reportedly murdered clan members it sees as either “collaborators” with Israel, or a threat to its rule of the Strip after the war, in three separate purges since December.
The latest of these victims were members of the Doghmush clan, which has some Hamas ties itself. It would seem that Hamas is killing its own out of desperation.
As the “day after” is currently one of the biggest questions regarding the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, until recently, there have been no direct details divulged.
Israeli media have, however, reported that clan members have begun to speak out about how the IDF has been in touch with them to request they provide security to aid convoys. Reports by The Times of Israel, YnetNews, and Reuters state that those who spoke out explicitly stated that they rejected working with Israel or against Hamas.
Another Reuters article from March despicably portrays clans as rallying around Hamas, even rival Fatah supporters, in order to protect humanitarian aid because Hamas members could not expose themselves in the open. But their reasons for this were more likely agenda-driven, as it has been discovered that aid was being resold in markets to Gazans for a price.
The Times of Israel reports that not only were these families asked for help to protect aid, but were potentially approached to take civil control of certain areas of Gaza. While this doesn’t seem like a fully formed “day after” plan, it seems to be the beginning of Israel’s search for one. But now, much of the mainstream media is ignoring it.
The fatal flaw, however, is that Hamas have threatened these families and anyone else who “colludes” with Israel. As stated above, they have even been murdering some they accuse of being collaborators. Many of them also do not want to be associated with Israel, due to their own beliefs and affiliations.
WSJ Reports a More Detailed “Day After”
An in-depth piece by The Wall Street Journal goes into more detail about a Netanyahu-backed plan still in the works:
Netanyahu, in rare comments addressing the issue last week, said the government would soon begin a phased plan to establish a civil administration run by local Palestinians in areas of the north—ultimately, he said he hopes, with security help from Arab states.
The plan, as the WSJ writes, “aims to work with local Palestinians who are unaffiliated with Hamas,” and will involve creating “bubble” zones in northern Gaza. Locals will take on “civic duties” and hand out humanitarian aid, with a “coalition of US and Arab states” tasked to overlook the process.
Although the WSJ writes that this plan may be difficult due to Hamas’ vow to “resist” any Israeli plan to “sever any hand of the occupation attempting to tamper with the destiny and future of our people,” they may not have so much leverage after all.
BBC is Right: Public Outcry Against Hamas is Getting Louder in Gaza
A BBC article reveals growing public outcry against Hamas.
Shortly after Israel’s hostage rescue mission on June 8, this video went viral of a bloodied Palestinian doctor from Nuseirat. Now, like many others, he blames Hamas for bringing death and destruction to the Gaza Strip.
Really touching
A man, after losing some of his family members yesterday, is not afraid to say it as it is!
The Hamas leadership is nothing but filthy terrorists.
Please share, he risked alot by saying this. Praying for his safety. pic.twitter.com/7ot4aysapK
— Yahya Mahamid محاميد (@3moYahya) June 10, 2024
It must be noted that a second video shows him finishing by condemning Israel as well.
This is just one of the many people who are fed up with Hamas’ rule, including some Hamas members themselves. One member who spoke to the BBC even called the October 7 massacre and resulting war a “crazy, uncalculated leap” that the terror group made without considering security for the “homefront” — with shelters, food and fuel reserves, and medical supplies:
Some have publicly criticised Hamas for hiding the hostages in apartments near a busy marketplace, or for firing rockets from civilian areas. Residents have told the BBC that swearing and cursing against the Hamas leadership is now common in the markets, and that some drivers of donkey carts have even nicknamed their animals after the Hamas leader in Gaza – Yahya Sinwar.
The BBC deserves credit for leaving its anti-Israel comfort zone and covering this topic in-depth. If the BBC can go the extra mile, then there’s really no excuse for other international media to ignore what could ultimately be a significant development for Gaza’s future.
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.
The post The International Media Is Ignoring Any Stories About Hamas’ Brutality in Gaza and Public Opposition first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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German Soccer Team Honors Anniversary of Murdered Hamas Hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s Death
A flag drawing awareness to Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin displayed outside the home stadium of Werder Bremen on July 4, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
The German professional soccer team SV Werder Bremen paid tribute to murdered American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin in a social media post on the first anniversary of his death while in Hamas captivity.
On Tuesday, the German team shared on Instagram a photo of two tifos displayed by German soccer fans during a match last year that said “Shalom, Salam, Peace” and “May Your Memory Be A Revolution, Achi!” The Hebrew word for “brother” is “achi.” Soccer fans in the stands also raised a giant photo of 23-year-old Goldberg-Polin, who was a big fan of the German club.
In the Instagram post, SV Werder Bremen wrote in German: “SV Werder remembers Hersh Goldberg-Polin. This is the first anniversary of the Jewish death of Hersh, who Hamas murdered along with five other hostages after eleven months of captivity. You remain in our hearts, achi!”
Goldberg-Polin was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, while at the Nova Music Festival in Re’im, Israel. He and five additional hostages – Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gat, 40, Almog Sarusi, 27, Alexander Lobanov, 32, and Sergeant Ori Danino, 25 – were murdered in a Hamas terror tunnel in the Gaza Strip after 328 days in captivity. Their bodies were found by the Israel Defense Forces in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in August 2024. Autopsies showed that they faced torture and starvation, according to reports. Hamas-led terrorists abducted 251 people during their deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Irish Author Sally Rooney Vows to Donate Proceeds of Work to UK Terror Group Palestine Action
Author Sally Rooney in an interview with “PBS NewsHour.” Photo: Screenshot.
Award-winning Irish author Sally Rooney said on Saturday that she will give proceeds from her books, as well as two BBC adaptations of them, to support Palestine Action, an anti-Israel group that was proscribed as a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom last month.
The writer, who is a longtime supporter of boycotts against Israel, made the announcement in an opinion piece for The Irish Times, in which she proclaimed clear support for the designated terror group. “Like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend — I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it,” she wrote.
“My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets. In recent years the UK’s state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels [‘Normal People’ and ‘Conversations With Friends’] and therefore regularly pays me residual fees,” she added. “I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.”
Being a member of Palestine Action or expressing support for the group is a criminal offense in the UK under the Terrorism Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The group was proscribed in early July after admitting that its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in southern England, spray-painted two jets with red paint, and damaged the jets with crowbars. The vandalism, done in protest of Britain’s support for Israel, resulted in roughly $9.5 million worth of damage, police said. Many of the group’s supporters were recently arrested at a pro-Palestine Action protest on Aug. 9 in Parliament Square, London.
Palestine Action has also claimed responsibility for other incidents targeting companies in the UK that have ties to Israel. The group accuses the British government of being complicit in alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
In the piece published on Saturday, Rooney – the best-selling author of Beautiful World, Where Are You and most recently Intermezzo – further said about Palestine Action: “We owe their courageous activists our gratitude and solidarity. And by now, almost two years into a live-streamed genocide, we owe the people of Palestine more than mere words.” She said she would gladly publish her support for Palestine Action in a UK newspaper, “but that would now be illegal.”
Rooney also claimed the British government “has willingly stripped its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms, including the right to express and read dissenting opinions, in order to protect its relationship with Israel.” She added, “The ramifications for cultural and intellectual life in the UK … are and will be profound.”
In 2021, Rooney refused to sell the Hebrew translation rights of Beautiful World, Where Are You? to an Israeli publisher because of her support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. In 2024, she was one of more than 1,000 authors who vowed to boycott Israeli publishers and institutions. She was also among the many celebrities who called for a ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war weeks after the latter’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Trump Administration Imposes New Sanctions on Four ICC Judges, Prosecutors
A general view of the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, March 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
President Donald Trump‘s administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, as Washington ramped up its pressure on the war tribunal over its targeting of Israeli leaders and a past decision to investigate US officials.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the court “a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare” against the United States and Israel.
Washington designated Nicolas Yann Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, and Kimberly Prost of Canada, according to the US Treasury and State Department. All officials have been involved in cases linked to Israel and the United States.
“United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach,” Rubio said.
The second round of sanctions comes less than three months after the administration took the unprecedented step of slapping sanctions on four separate ICC judges. It represents a serious escalation that will likely impede the functioning of the court and the prosecutor’s office as they deal with major cases, including war crime allegations against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The ICC, which had slammed the move in June as an attempt to undermine the independence of the judicial institution, and the office of the prosecutor, did not have immediate comment.
ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. Israeli officials have adamantly denied the allegations, noting they’re targeting terrorists who attacked Israel first and embed their military infrastructure among civilian areas.
In March 2020, prosecutors opened an investigation in Afghanistan that included looking into possible crimes by US troops, but since 2021, it has deprioritized the role of the US and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and the Taliban forces.
The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council.
Although the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in its 125 member countries, some nations, including the US, China, Russia, and Israel, do not recognize its authority.
It has high-profile war crimes investigations under way into the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as in Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Venezuela.
The sanctions freeze any US assets the individuals may have and essentially cut them off from the US financial system.
Guillou is an ICC judge who presided over a pre-trial panel that issued the arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Khan and Niang are the court’s two deputy prosecutors.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement welcoming the US sanctions.
Canadian Judge Kimberly Prost served on an ICC appeals chamber that, in March 2020, unanimously authorized the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003, including examining the role of US service members.
Global Affairs Canada and the office of Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ICC sanctions, including against Prost.
The Trump administration‘s dislike of the court goes back to his first term. In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the court’s work on Afghanistan.