Hamas and Israel Wage a Brutal Propaganda War Over Starvation
📷 Image source: ft.com
The Images That Shook the World
A Grim Exchange of Suffering
Hamas released a video this week that felt like a punch to the gut. It showed emaciated Israeli hostages, their ribs visible, their eyes hollow. The message was clear: look what Israel’s siege has done. But the group didn’t stop there. In the same breath, they flashed images of Palestinian infants, skeletal from malnutrition in Gaza. It was a calculated, brutal juxtaposition—starvation as propaganda.
This isn’t just about hunger. It’s about who gets to frame the narrative in a war where both sides accuse the other of using civilians as pawns. The footage, verified by the FT, is real. The suffering is undeniable. But the way it’s being weaponized? That’s where things get even uglier.
The Numbers Behind the Horror
Starvation by the Digits
According to UN reports, Gaza’s food crisis is catastrophic. Over 90% of the population faces acute food insecurity. Some 576,000 people—a quarter of Gaza—are one step away from famine. Israeli restrictions on aid trucks, combined with Hamas’s diversion of supplies, have turned starvation into a weapon.
On the other side, Hamas claims at least 20 Israeli hostages have died from malnutrition or lack of medical care. Israel hasn’t confirmed the number, but officials admit some captives are in dire condition. The math here is grim: both sides are letting people wither to prove a point.
The Psychological Warfare
Why These Images Cut Deep
Starvation isn’t just a physical crisis—it’s a psychological one. Hamas knows that. So does Israel. By showing gaunt hostages, Hamas isn’t just shaming Israel; it’s trying to fracture Israeli morale. The implicit threat: your people are dying because of your government’s choices.
Israel’s response? A counter-narrative. Officials point to Hamas’s history of stealing aid, of prioritizing fighters over civilians. They argue that if Hamas cared about Palestinian lives, they’d surrender. It’s a circular, vicious blame game, and the civilians—Israeli and Palestinian—are the ones paying the price.
The Global Reaction
Who’s Buying It?
The international community isn’t unified here. Pro-Palestinian activists cite the images of Gaza’s children as proof of Israeli war crimes. Pro-Israeli groups fire back, saying Hamas started this by taking hostages in the first place. The U.S. and EU have condemned Hamas’s tactics but also pressed Israel to allow more aid.
Meanwhile, the UN’s aid chief, Martin Griffiths, called the situation 'a moral outrage.' But outrage doesn’t feed people. And with ceasefire talks stalled, the propaganda war is outpacing the diplomatic one.
What Comes Next
A Race Against Time
This isn’t sustainable. Famine looms in Gaza. Hostages may die. The longer this drags on, the more both sides radicalize their bases with these images. The irony? The starvation narrative might be the one thing that forces a deal. Because no one—not Israel, not Hamas, not the U.S.—wants to be remembered as the side that let children starve to death on camera.
But time’s running out. And in this war, the clock is measured in empty stomachs.
#Hamas #Israel #Gaza #PropagandaWar #Starvation
