Funny how over the last few days, the IDF scored more than a few hits on terrorists, and the media mostly ignored it—because the terrorists were effectively caught red-handed launching rockets at Israeli towns. There was no “poor, poor, pitiful Pals” narrative to go with the story—just naked attemped murder on Israeli civilians.
Until yesterday. Yesterday, the IDF killed two boys when it launched its own rockets at a rocket-launching crew—and it turns out, the narrative is a little different. You see, Palestinians have been using children to retrieve their rocket launchers after firing kassams at Israel, because they know that if the IDF sees that there are children nearby, they will hold their fire. It’s a common practice, long known by the IDF, and long hidden from the public by the AP, Reuters, or any other major news media. And while the current news stories actually acknowledge this practice, the media are using weasel-wording and their tried-and-true practice of burying that fact far enough into the story as to not make your average newspaper’s “World” section, which carries only the first three to five paragraphs of a story, and sometimes only the first two.
Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, two of them children, in the West Bank and Gaza Tuesday and early Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli army said ground forces fired at gunmen who approached the Israel-Gaza border fence Tuesday. The Islamic Jihad group said three militants on a mission against Israel were killed.
[…] Later in the day, the army said troops targeted two figures spotted near a rocket launcher in an area of northern Gaza where a rocket had been fired into Israel earlier.
The fire killed a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old who were members of the same extended family, said doctor Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Another 10-year-old was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly hurt, all of them civilians, Hassanin said.
The army said Palestinian rocket teams have been known to send young children to retrieve rocket launchers after firing.
“In light of the reports, it seems likely that this was the case here,” the army said in a statement.
Notice the lack of a name for the army spokesperson, as is nearly always the case with any report from an Israeli regarding a “militant” strike. Notice also you have the doctor’s name. There is nearly always a named Palestinian spokesperson, and often, the victims names, ages, and quotes from families are part of the AP and Reuters stories.
Meantime, this is the very last paragraph in the AP narrative, and please remember that the last paragraph of a news article is always considered to be the most cuttable:
Israel frequently carries out ground and air attacks in an effort to stop near-daily rocket fire. Palestinians fired three rockets into Israel on Tuesday including one that hit an empty kindergarten in the town of Sderot near Gaza, the army said.
This is the CNN narrative:
On Tuesday, Israeli attacks launched at what Israel said were Palestinians involved in firing missiles into Israel from Gaza killed as many as four people, including two children, Palestinian sources said.
There were conflicting reports about how many people were killed in the initial attack, an air strike. In the second attack, Hamas security sources said Israeli forces had killed two children.
[…] In the second attack, the Israeli army said it launched an attack on two Palestinian militants standing near a rocket launcher in northern Gaza, in an area from which a Qassam rocket was fired onto Israel just a short while before.
Hamas security sources said the Israelis hit and killed two children, both age 11, with what seemed to be a ground-to-ground missile.
An Israel Defense Forces representative did not specify what weapons were used. The IDF did not immediately respond to the Hamas accusation that it had killed two children.
Note the boldface words, and please note that there are no such weasel words on Hamas spokesmen. See the CNN bias in action: Israelis lie, Hamas terrorists speak the truth. Subtle, but there. And if you were reading this story from another planet, you’d think that Hamas was the trustworthy source, and the IDF was the organization that didn’t want to speak to reporters or give out any information.
Now Reuters:
Israeli missiles killed three Palestinian militants and two young boys in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, ratcheting up tensions two months after Hamas seized control of the territory.
Yes, they’re starting off with the whole overarching “ratcheting up tensions” meme: Israel is causing the tensions because they aimed for terrorists firing rockets into Israel, and caught two kids who were being used as human shields for the terrorists.
The fifth and sixth paragraphs give the Israeli side of the story, again from an unnamed Israeli spokesman, because personalizing the Israelis makes them more human.
An army spokesman said that militant groups “often use children as part of their operations” to retrieve launchers and equipment following rocket attacks.
“In this recent event it seems likely that this was the case,” he said.
The BBC version doesn’t so much as bother to contain context, only the fact that children were killed. And oh yeah, in case you miss the point, here’s the headline:
Children killed in Israeli strike
Two Palestinian children have been killed and three others wounded by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, Palestinian health officials have said.The dead boys, aged 13 and 14, were close to an area from which militants had been firing rockets at Israel, the officials said.
Israel said its ground forces had fired upon two people who were seen near a rocket launcher near Beit Hanoun.
I’m guessing the BBC got the exact same statements as the other news services, and yet, they neglect to point out the crucial fact that young boys are used to retrieve the launchers after they are fired so that the IDF can’t get a bead on the terrorists launching them. That’s an unpleasant fact the BBC will probably never publish.
If you read the full story, the BBC details four separate strikes, all against terrorists launching attacks on Israel. But the headline and lede are all about the children. Because that is the narrative about Israel: Terrorists killed by the IDF don’t count as newsworthy unless there are also civilians hurt. Because the narrative is that all Israel does is murder civilians. Never mind the incredible care Israel takes to prevent civilian casualties. Never mind that the terrorists who were killed by the IDF were gunning for civilians, or sending rockets at kindergartens, or trying to murder noncombatants—even when the terrorists groups admit openly that their men were trying to kill Israelis, the narrative is always, always on the damage that Israel does to civilians.
It simply amazes me that, given the anti-Israel media bias, Israel isn’t even more hated by the world than she is.
The thing is that some people just refuse to acknowledge the concept of collateral damage. They consider the accidental death of a bystander during a military response to be morally no different than the terrorist act that provoked the response. It’s morality based on slogans rather than tradition or thought, and there’s probably no way to change their minds.
Now Reuters, upgraded:
Israeli missiles killed five Palestinian militants (two of whom were young boys) in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as Palestinian officials were ratcheting up tensions two months after Hamas seized control of the territory, by continuing their daily rocket attacks on Israel.