Former IDF spokesman Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner commented on the reports surrounding the recent major bombing in Rafah, saying that Hamas was misleading the world again.
“Evolution of fake news and mass manipulation by Hamas. One quote in Washington Post coverage of the strike on Hamas terrorists in Rafah caught my eye this morning,” Lerner tweeted.
““𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 2371, 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙯𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡𝙞 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙮 22, 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙪𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙙 𝘼𝙗𝙪 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙞, 𝙖 𝙘𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙯𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥.” Muhammad Abu Hani, quoted is a Hamas official. He appears to be the source of the widely reported claim that the IAF targeted the humanitarian zone.”
“Is he also the source of the reports from the same “civil defense” of 50 people killed in the strike? A number published by many of the world media. 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞. See the aerial photograph of the point of the strike, compared to the humanitarian zone,” Lerner advised. An infographic from the IDF was attached, claiming to show the strike happened beyond the borders of the humanitarian zone. “The Washington Post should’ve checked this verifiable quote. They chose to blindly run a story, miserably failing their readers.”
He summarised the aftermath of the report: “The IDF has now announced that the incident will be investigated by the Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism. Including what caused the ignition of the fire beyond the target, and the tragic result, despite the precautionary measures including surveillance, precise munitions and additional intelligence to limit civilian casualties.”
The IDF is not the only body that needs to be investigated, he claimed. “We must however ask ourselves, if the Washington Post and others are willingly quoting as fact the Hamas lies about a strike that DIDN’T occur in the humanitarian zone, what else are they automatically regurgitating? The Hamas compound in #Rafah is another example of how they’ve intentionally weaponized the civilian arena. The question of why Hamas is allowed to push fake news, exaggerated figures and false narrative should be at the heart of all media coverage of this war.”
He reminds readers of what is at stake: “Hamas have one goal in this war - survive. They can only do that if Israel can’t fight, hold Hamas accountable for the October 7th Massacre, and bring back 125 hostages they continue to unlawfully hold. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬’ 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫.”
