JERUSALEM: Early Friday, just after midnight, the Israeli military put out an ominous statement to the media: “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.”
The terse statement set off frenzied speculation that Israel had launched a ground invasion of Gaza — a much-feared scenario that would mark a bloody escalation of this week’s operation against Hamas militants. Some reporters were even told outright the incursion had begun.
Hours later, the military issued a “clarification.” There were no troops inside Gaza. But by then, several major news outlets had erroneously reported the ground offensive was under way.
While the army attempted to play down the incident as a misunderstanding, well-placed Israeli military commentators said the media had been used as part of an elaborate ruse to lure Hamas militants into a deadly trap that may have killed dozens of fighters.
“They didn’t lie,” said Or Heller, a veteran military correspondent on Israel’s Channel 13 TV. “It was a manipulation. It was smart and it was successful.”
This is how it unfolded:
Late Thursday, after days of airstrikes, Israel announced it was calling up thousands of reservists and amassing troops along the border ahead of a possible ground invasion. In another sign of escalation, Israeli tanks stationed along the border opened fire at targets inside Gaza.
In previous rounds of fighting, ground incursions have resulted in widespread destruction in Gaza and heavy casualties on both sides.
That set the stage for the late-night deception. According to Heller, Israel began scrambling forces along the border in what appeared to be final preparations for an invasion. Then came the announcement to the media, issued simultaneously in Hebrew and Arabic on Twitter. There followed alerts in major outlets that the invasion was under way.
The Israeli moves sent Hamas fighters rushing into defensive positions in an underground network of tunnels known as the Metro, according to Heller and other Israeli reports.
Israel called in 160 warplanes and bombarded the tunnels for 40 minutes, the military said. Heller said it was his understanding that scores of militants had been killed, though he said it was impossible to say.
“What we saw tonight was a very sophisticated operation that had a media aspect to it,” Heller said.
Hamas has not commented on the incident, and it was impossible to confirm the Israeli reports.
Heller said veteran Israeli correspondents, who have close ties to the military and in many cases have served themselves, knew that there was no way Israel was sending troops across enemy lines at this stage. Heller and other military correspondents even put out statements on Twitter assuring the jittery public that there was no ground operation.
The Associated Press, based on its analysis of the army’s statement, phone calls to military officials and on the ground reporting in Gaza, concluded there was no ground incursion and did not report there was one.
But others said the military had misled them or even lied when asked to clarify, turning the foreign media into an accessory of sorts.
Felicia Schwartz, correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, said she alerted news of a ground offensive after receiving explicit confirmation from Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman.
In a statement posted on Twitter, she said Conricus “told me directly, `There are ground troops in Gaza.’ That was the basis for a first story saying so. He retracted that statement two hours later and I changed the story to reflect that, and that is noted in the text and will be corrected.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Conricus blamed an “internal miscommunication.”
“These things can sometimes happen in the midst of a complex operation with many moving parts and with an unclear picture of what was happening,” he said. “As soon as I understood that I had the wrong information, I updated the relevant people with a clarification.”
Militaries around the world have long used deception and trickery against their enemies. Two years ago, the Israeli military reportedly faked the injuries of soldiers at the scene of a Hezbollah missile strike, going so far as to evacuate them to a hospital in a helicopter.
According to reports at the time, the army staged the injuries to trick Hezbollah into thinking it had inflicted casualties and therefore would agree to a cease-fire.
Friday’s misleading statement further strained what has often been a rocky relationship between the IDF and the foreign media.
Peter Lerner, a former military spokesman to the foreign media, said the Israeli public in general has long felt the international media focus too heavily on the Palestinian side of the story while minimizing Israeli concerns and suffering — and the army is similarly inclined.
Lerner said he felt it was unlikely the military intentionally lied, but damage was done regardless.
“Your currency is credibility,” he said. “I think this is a crisis of that credibility in the way it’s being portrayed.”
Israeli military accused of using media to trick Hamas militants in Gaza
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Israeli military accused of using media to trick Hamas militants in Gaza
- ‘It was not a lie. It was a manipulation,’ says Or Heller, a veteran military correspondent
- Ruse sent Hamas fighters rushing into an underground network of tunnels
Ten Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on school in Gaza’s Khan Younis
- Residents say Israeli military escalated airstrikes and tank shelling on parts of Khan Younis
- Israeli military earlier dropped leaflets warning residents to leave their homes and head west
Residents said Israeli military escalated airstrikes and tank shelling on parts of Khan Younis, a day after it dropped leaflets warning residents to leave their homes and head west, saying forces would fight Hamas and other militants in those areas.
US-backed Gaza aid group to halt distribution on Wednesday, UN to vote on ceasefire demand
- An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites on Wednesday, deeming them “combat zones”
CAIRO/JERUSALEM/UNITED NATIONS: The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites, a day after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed.
The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to “guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks” near military perimeters; develop clearer guidance for civilians; and enhance training to support civilian safety.
“Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid,” said a GHF spokesperson. An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites on Wednesday, deeming them “combat zones.”
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it opened fire on a group of people it viewed as a threat near a GHF food aid distribution site. The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured. The GHF said the incident was “well beyond” its site.
Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for aid.
The UN Security Council is also set to vote on Wednesday on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where aid has trickled amid chaos and bloodshed after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on the enclave where famine looms.
“It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday, adding that the aid distribution model backed by the US and Israel was “all a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what is going on.”
That model is run by the newly created GHF, which started operations in the enclave a week ago and said on Tuesday that it has given out more than seven million meals from three so-called secure distribution sites. GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree urged humanitarians in Gaza: “Work with us and we will get your aid delivered to those who are depending on it.”
US VETO?
The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and the distribution model militarizes aid. GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid to the distribution sites.
It is the latest in a string of efforts to get more aid into the enclave, where experts say the entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine. Jordan last year spearheaded humanitarian air drops, while the US briefly installed a floating aid pier, but it was beset by challenges.
The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.
Israel said on Tuesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least 18 more Palestinians were killed in other military strikes in the territory on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.
The 10 elected members of the UN Security Council have asked for the 15-member body to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties.”
The draft text, seen by Reuters, also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza.
“The time to act has already passed,” Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told Reuters. “It is our historical responsibility not to remain silent.”
As US President Donald Trump’s administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, it was not immediately clear if Washington would veto the draft text. A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said: “We cannot preview our actions currently under consideration.”
A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France — to pass.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, which do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.
Israel army says shelling Syria after projectiles launched
- Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday in response to a pair of projectile launches, with Defense Minister Israel Katz saying he held Syria’s leader “directly responsible.”
A military statement said that “two projectiles were identified crossing from Syria into Israeli territory, and fell in open areas,” adding in a subsequent statement that its “artillery struck in southern Syria” following the launches.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported shelling “targeting the Yarmuk Basin, in the west of Daraa” province.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties.
“Violent explosions shook southern Syria, notably the town of Quneitra and the Daraa region, following Israeli aerial strikes” overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the monitor said in a statement.
Israel said it had targeted weapons belonging to Syrian authorities following the launch of the projectiles.
There were no reports of casualties or damage on the Israeli side due to the projectiles, which the military said triggered air raid sirens in parts of the southern Golan Heights, a territory Israel conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement released by his office that “we view the president of Syria as directly responsible for any threat or fire directed at the State of Israel.”
“A full response will follow shortly,” he added.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, led the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December.
Israeli media said Tuesday’s projectiles were the first fired from Syria into Israeli territory since Assad’s fall.
Following his overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights, and has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria.
Israel says the strikes aim to stop advanced weapons reaching Syria’s new authorities, whom it considers jihadists.
In a statement on Sunday, Israel’s military said its troops were continuing “defensive operations in southern Syria” to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure and protect the residents of the Golan Heights.”
Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948.
Israel army confirms shot Palestinian teen in West Bank
- A statement from the local municipality also said Faqha died after being shot by Israeli forces
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Israel’s military confirmed on Tuesday it had “neutralized” a Palestinian who threw rocks in the occupied West Bank, where authorities said the slain victim was 14 years old.
In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian Authority announced “the martyrdom of 14-year-old boy Yousef Fouad F aqha, who was shot by Israeli forces in the town of Sinjil” in the central West Bank.
A statement from the local municipality also said Faqha died after being shot by Israeli forces.
Asked about the incident, the Israeli military told AFP on Tuesday that during an operation around Sinjil a day earlier, its forces had “identified a terrorist who had hurled rocks toward a transportation route and thrown two bottles containing hazardous material toward the forces.”
“Immediately after identifying the threat, the forces opened fire and neutralized the terrorist,” it added.
The military later confirmed to AFP that the target was Faqha.
Sources close to the family said that Israeli authorities were still holding onto the body.
In a similar incident in April, a teenager who held US citizenship was shot dead in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, with the Israeli military saying it had killed a “terrorist” who threw rocks at cars.
Sinjil and Turmus Ayya are located next to each other on either side of a main road running through the West Bank.
The Israeli military has recently surrounded Sinjil with a large metal fence that cuts the town off from the road.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 938 Palestinians — many of them militants, but also scores of civilians — in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
At least 35 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
US-backed Gaza aid group names evangelical as chairman
- Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with neighboring Arab states
UNITED NATIONS: The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Tuesday named as its executive chairman an American evangelical Christian leader who has publicly backed President Donald Trump's proposal for the United States to take over the Palestinian enclave.
The appointment of Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore, a former evangelical adviser to the White House during Trump's first term in office, came as health officials said at least 27 people died and more than 150 were injured trying to reach a GHF aid site.
"GHF is demonstrating that it is possible to move vast quantities of food to people who need it most — safely, efficiently, and effectively," Moore said in the foundation statement. "GHF believes that serving the people of Gaza with dignity and compassion must be the top priority."
HIGHLIGHTS
• GHF says it has delivered some 7 million meals in Gaza
• UN refuses to work with GHF, says aid distribution militarized
• Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, Hamas denies it
The GHF began operations one week ago under a distribution model criticized by the United Nations as the militarization of aid. The GHF says so far it has given out seven million meals from so-called secure distribution sites. It uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get aid into Gaza.
The U.N. and aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not a neutral operation. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher has said it "makes aid conditional on political and military aims" and uses starvation as "a bargaining chip."
The appointment of Moore could fuel U.N. concerns, given his support for the controversial proposal Trump floated in February for the U.S. to take over Gaza and develop it economically. After Trump proposed the idea, Moore posted video of Trump's remarks on X and wrote: "The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future."
'BAD GUYS'
The U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appointment of Moore, who has accused the U.N. of ignoring "bad guys" stealing aid in Gaza. The U.N. has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for impediments getting aid into Gaza and distributing throughout the war zone.
Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. In a reference to the new GHF-led aid model, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week said Israel was "taking control of food distribution" in Gaza.
"The @UN & others should clean up their act & work with America," Moore posted on May 26. "Surely, these old U.S. & E.U.-funded humanitarian orgs won't let people starve in exchange for being 'right' when they know what they have done hasn't worked & has, in fact, made a terrible war worse?"
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Moore visited Israel about three months after the 2023 Hamas attack and wrote: "Never have I seen such horror."
Just a couple of weeks later, he posted a video titled "Come visit beautiful Gaza," which sought to portray Gaza as a tourist destination if it wasn't for Hamas militants. Trump has said Gaza has the potential to be "The Riviera of the Middle East."
The United Nations has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with neighboring Arab states.
