
Eli Lake, a prominent journalist and columnist, recently highlighted an article by Seth Mandel, Senior Editor at Commentary Magazine, asserting that "the entire Gaza genocide lie has collapsed." Lake endorsed Mandel's analysis, calling it "superb" and a "must read" in a social media post. Mandel's piece systematically argues that numerous accusations against Israel regarding its conduct in the Gaza conflict are based on false narratives propagated by Hamas.
Mandel's reporting points to several instances of alleged misinformation, including the tragic case of the Bibas children. He states that Hamas initially claimed the children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but forensic examinations later revealed they were allegedly strangled by their Palestinian captors. This incident, according to Mandel, underscores a broader pattern of deception employed by the militant group to influence global perception of the conflict.
Furthermore, the Commentary editor contends that Hamas has consistently inflated casualty figures, leading major news outlets to report significantly higher numbers than actual civilian casualties. He asserts that "not only was there no genocide in Gaza, there wasn’t even disproportionate collateral damage." Mandel also addresses the widely reported claims of an impending famine in Gaza, arguing these have been debunked, citing evidence of aid flow and the absence of mass starvation.
Another key point raised by Mandel concerns the hospital explosion early in the conflict, which Hamas quickly attributed to an Israeli strike. He notes that it later became clear a Palestinian rocket was responsible, yet the initial false claim fueled widespread protests and diplomatic repercussions. Mandel concludes that reporting on the conflict has been compromised by reliance on Hamas statements, which he characterizes as consistently false until proven otherwise.
These revelations, as presented by Mandel and amplified by Lake, suggest a significant challenge in discerning truth amidst the ongoing conflict. The narrative put forth by Mandel implies that a critical re-evaluation of information sources is necessary for an accurate understanding of events in Gaza.