Motaz Azaiza, a photographer from Palestine, Gaza, once captured the beauties of the people, places and cultures of his country. Now, he films the destruction, death, and chaos among the Gazans as they face the ongoing rain of bombs and missiles every day.
Through his videos and other Palestinians active on social media, such as Plestia Al Qadad and Bisan, to mention only a few, the world has seen uncensored videos and pictures of the horrors the Gazan are going through. Videos of a doctor operating on patients only to find out his son was murdered, a father carrying the remaining limbs of his children after the bombing of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on the October 17th (Clash Report on X), doctors operating on a child without anaesthesia using flashlights while he reads Quran (Clash Report on X, October 23, 2023). These have all been shown on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
We have seen Israel dropping white phosphorus, a chemical that is internationally banned due to the severity of its effects on the human body and nature in general. With the incessant bombing, telecommunication buildings and offices have not been spared. Al Jazeera's Chief Bureau Wael Dahdaouh was reporting the bombings in Yarmouk on 25th October when he got the news that his own family had been killed by an Israeli bomb in Nuseirat. On the night of 27th October, Gaza's communication had entirely stopped as it faced the heaviest bombing in the last two weeks. Perhaps, the Israeli government thought that if they committed a genocide in the dark, nobody would notice.
Nevertheless, I could write about every single video that has been put out on the internet and the hard evidence of the war crimes and atrocities that the Israeli government has carried out and the American, British, and German government have funded, but it would be never ending.
With all the crimes being unveiled, it seems that a media war has started between the mainstream media and social media. Using specific language like Israeli victims being "murdered" while Palestinians are simply "killed" has not gone unnoticed by many members of social media. While the President of the United States confidently garnered sympathy by claiming "I never really thought that I would see, have confirmed, pictures of terrorists beheading children," and the infamous "Hamas beheaded 40 babies" rumour began, multiple news outlets such as CNN, NBC and Al Jazeera, and a spokesperson from the White House (Al Jazeera, October 14, 2023) themselves confirmed it was a lie. Despite swallowing their own claims and the journalist who began this rumour clarifying her mistake (Anadolu Ajansi, October 14, 2023), it became the new excuse for many people on social media to justify the genocide of Palestinians.
The Israeli propaganda machine is trying their best to become as strong as their bombs and tanks but miserably failing. Spending at least $7.1 million (Doha News, October 22, 2023) on just YouTube Adverts by displaying staged photos of killings and infiltrating children's shows to gain sympathy, Israel thought it was enough for people to push aside the ongoing genocide they are carrying out. Their new tactic is messaging influencers who show support for Palestine and bribing them (Rolling Stone, October 21, 2023) with a hefty amount of money to use their platform to speak praises about Israel instead.
Of course, we also have the entitled Zionists who repeat the same excuses once the war crimes have been brought up. Their tones are almost robotic: "Well what about the 40 beheaded babies?", "Hamas started it", "They brought it upon themselves", "It's to eliminate Hamas". The first, as explained, was already proved to be a lie. Yet, the Palestinian babies who are in incubators and will soon have no support due to the near-ending fuel that is left are of no importance to these people. The actual beheaded Palestinian child deserves no sympathy because she is Palestinian. As for the second statement, Hamas attacked on 7th October, but what about the constant attacks that started from 1948? If you took a person into their home and they took over and kicked you out, would you not fight back too? Painting the victim as the oppressor for fighting back is the exact image that mainstream Western media is painting. The Palestinians are labelled as "terrorists" for fighting back for the land that was their own, whereas when, Ukraine, for instance, fought back against Russia, they were named "Freedom fighters". It seems that only the white race can conquer land and fight for it but anyone otherwise, is a terrorist. As for the third statement, are the innocent children Hamas terrorists too? Apparently so to one Israeli politician, screaming "The children in Gaza brought it upon themselves" (Truthout, October 18, 2023). This repeated excuse has become invalid as at least 8,000 civilians have been killed and at least 825 families have been completely wiped off according to Gaza's ministry of health. Finally, it is becoming more and more obvious that "eliminating Hamas" is only an excuse to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing.
As more and more young people spread awareness and show support for Palestine despite the attempted censorship, there is a dark and inhumane side to all of this. After October 7th, Ben Shapiro, a Jewish American talk-show host, used pictures of AI to show pictures of a "burnt Jewish baby"(The New Arab, October 13, 2023). While he did face backlash for it later, he took no accountability. On the other hand, hundreds of pictures of real injured Palestinian babies and children have circulated the internet. A new trend has started on the Israeli side of TikTok, mocking and dressing up as Palestinians (TRT World, October 27, 2023). Usually, it begins with an Israeli woman wearing a scarf around her head, blackening her teeth, and speaking Arabic. Often, there is fake blood and loud sounds that mimic bombs. These videos go beyond oppression, it is one thing to stay silent about the genocide but a complete atrocity to mock the millions of women who will never hold their children, husbands, and families ever again.
As social media rages on, more and more people are being shown the clear terror that is being waged upon the Palestinians. This is a war of its own kind and it is almost worth thinking that when this war will be taught in history books in many decades or centuries to come, many people will praise and condemn for being on the "right" and "wrong" side of history – the former being side of the oppressed Palestinians and the latter being that of the tyrannical Israeli and Western oppressors.