CITIZENS NEWS

Israel prepares “propaganda war” to control the narrative as international journalists set to enter Gaza

By isabelle // 2025-10-29

• Israel prepares a propaganda war as journalists enter Gaza.
• Officials fear human stories will reveal the war's true cost.
• They plan curated tours to blame Hamas for the destruction.
• The strategy aims to downplay the high civilian death toll.
• Officials admit they cannot stop the coming wave of truth.

In a desperate attempt to control the narrative after a brutal military campaign, Israeli officials are now preparing for what they internally call a “propaganda war.” This comes as international journalists are poised to finally enter the Gaza Strip, a territory from which they have been systematically barred while more than 200 Palestinian journalists were killed. The Israeli state is scrambling to manufacture a defense against the anticipated wave of stories detailing the immense civilian suffering and widespread destruction, a direct result of its own military actions. According to a report from the Israeli news site Ynet, senior officials are deeply worried about the “human stories from Gaza in the voices and faces of the residents themselves.” They fear these accounts will portray Israel’s campaign in what they term a “negative light,” revealing the true human cost of the war. For months, the world has seen only glimpses of the devastation; soon, reporters will be able to document it firsthand. One official involved in the planning admitted the challenge is significant. “We are working to prepare explanatory materials, with an emphasis on visual and incriminating evidence to illustrate that Hamas turned Gaza into a terror state, cynically using civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the official said. This strategy is a classic tactic of shifting blame, attempting to justify the unjustifiable by hiding behind claims of military necessity.

A coordinated strategy of deception

The planned response is highly coordinated. Israeli agencies, including the Foreign Ministry and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, are developing a strategy that includes creating designated “demonstration sites.” These controlled areas are meant to shepherd journalists through a curated narrative, relentlessly blaming Hamas for the destruction that Israeli bombs and bulldozers actually caused. The goal is to distract from the overwhelming evidence of war crimes. Officials openly state that their message will be that “Hamas bears the responsibility,” claiming this is “consistent with international law, even if it doesn’t look good on camera.” This is a transparent effort to whitewash the reality of entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, along with schools, universities, and hospitals. The destruction is so comprehensive that one official described it as “fertile ground for anti-Israel campaigns.” Another part of the strategy involves challenging the Gaza death toll, despite studies showing the official numbers are likely a significant undercount. Officials claim they will present data to show a “very low” ratio of civilian to terrorist deaths. This is a predictable maneuver to downplay a casualty figure that includes a shocking percentage of women and children, a fact that has already turned global public opinion against Israel.

Israel is losing control over the narrative

Despite these elaborate preparations, some within the Israeli system are pessimistic about their ability to control the story. One senior official acknowledged the futility of their public relations battle. “Unfortunately, I don’t see real readiness,” the official confessed. This official laid out the inescapable truth that the propaganda machine is about to fail. “The international media have already published photos of the destruction and the death toll figures released by Hamas’ health ministry. What hasn’t yet been told are the human stories from Gaza... That’s what journalists will now bring, and there’s little we can do to counter it.” The same official compared the coming wave of truth to a “tsunami,” concluding, “We just have to lower our heads, let the wave pass, and move on.” This resignation reveals a system that knows its actions cannot be explained away or hidden any longer. The world is about to see the full, unvarnished consequences of a military campaign that has been called genocidal by leading international bodies. This planned propaganda offensive is part of a long-standing Israeli policy known as “Hasbara,” a sophisticated tool used for decades to justify occupation and whitewash war crimes by labeling critics as anti-Semites. However, the sheer scale of destruction in Gaza has exposed the limits of this propaganda model. Raw, unfiltered images of devastation have pierced through the narrative control, shifting global empathy overwhelmingly toward the Palestinian people. The impending arrival of journalists in Gaza marks a critical moment of accountability. No amount of curated “demonstration sites” or prepared talking points can erase the evidence of what has been done. The truth, told by the people who lived through it, is finally coming to the forefront, and it promises to be an indictment that no propaganda war can win. Sources for this article include: News.Antiwar.com YnetNews.com ABNA24.com

national security free press Israel propaganda genocide big government deception journalism chaos humanitarian WWIII media fact watch Gaza