WHO controls the media shapes the narrative. From the time Israel began bombing Gaza, the Western media have used the expression, “war in Gaza,” to describe the indiscriminate Israeli bombing of a place that is 25 miles in length and three miles in width.

Even the most comical description of a war involves army, air force, tank battalions, navy fleet and a battle field administration that is protected by ground troops. No such picture obtains in Gaza. Such a scenario is visible in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Hamas is a guerrilla fighting force that possesses an array of army weapons used exclusively by hand. The Hamas militants have no gunships, jet fighters and conventional battle field army infantry.

What Israel has done since October 2024 is raze to rubble the buildings in Gaza where Palestinians live. There is episodic ground engagement between Israeli soldiers that went in with tanks and the Hamas militants. The tanks are used to bomb buildings where the Israeli tank drivers believe Hamas guerrillas are hiding out.

It is seven months of Israeli operations in northern Gaza in which thousands have lost their lives and the place is literally in ruins. Yet, to date, the Israeli Defence Force (IDI) has not named for the world to know, the Hamas leadership that is either captured or killed.

Hamas in Gaza would naturally have a formidable link between its soldiers and its political wing similar to what Northern Island had with the IRA and its political officers. After seven months of bombing, the IDI is yet to name the commanding officers of Hamas and members of its political directorate that have been held as prisoners or killed.

After seven months of devastation in northern Gaza, the IDI has moved into southern Gaza. The reason for going into the north is pathetic and someone with commonsense anywhere in the world would know that the IDI is lying and is losing in its operation against Hamas. Please note I wrote, “operation” and not “war.”

Why has the IDI gone into the north? It says that is where Hamas militants are embedded. But how did they get to the north when the IDI bombed the hell out of the south and there was Israeli infantry on the ground?

The Israeli propaganda has now taken on an eerie, bizarre yet comical tone with a recent announcement. The IDI now tells the world that Hamas fighters are moving back to the north.
So, if they are moving back into the north, it means the use of the word, “back” denotes they were there in the first place. If they were there, why weren’t they killed or captured in the first place. Then, there is the perennial issue of the hostages. After seven months of bombing the south, how can the hostages still be alive?

But they are alive and there are ongoing talks to achieve a ceasefire so they can be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Tel Aviv jails. So where are these hostages? They are not in the south because the south has been bombed out. If they are in the north how did they get there and who took them there? Obviously, they had to be taken by Hamas fighters, but how did Hamas achieve that logistical impossibility?

The answer is not complex. The hostages and Hamas fighters are in the south and in the north of Gaza, and the maneuverability of Hamas fighters and hostages between north and south is a reality because the IDI does not control the south or the north. What the IDI has been doing since October 2023 is bombing the physical structures where Palestinians live.

It has done that in the south, creating the second genocide in modern times after the Jews in Nazi Germany and in Rwanda, and it is now doing that in Rafah in the north. The IDI is afraid to engage Hamas in hand-to-hand combat because it is afraid of losing a war of the guerillas that is impossible to win. How did it reach that conclusion?

This is where the Western media come in. The Western world is not getting the facts on IDI casualties in Gaza. The IDI lost heavily in hand-to-hand combat a few months ago and that was the end of ground engagement. The IDI is finished with ground battles with Hamas. They are going to bomb Rafah to bits.

But here is the reality. The motive was never to confront the Hamas guerillas. The intention from October 2023 to the present is vendetta – to kill off the inhabitants of Gaza. One sure thing the Gaza tragedy has exploded – the myth of Israel’s military invincibility. Iran has dealt the death blow to that myth when it bombed Israel.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.