In response to communication from CAMERA’s Israel office, Times of Israel has deleted a June 28 Instagram post which misidentified footage of a pro-Hamas gathering as a demonstration protesting the designated terror organization which rules the Gaza Strip.
In the now deleted footage, residents appeared carrying the green Hamas flags. Contrary to a common social media practice for news organizations, Times of Israel did not publish a post noting the deletion and its reason.
The Jerusalem Post reported that turnout for planned June 26 anti-Hamas demonstrations in the Gaza Strip was low (“Protests, revolution in Strip cannot succeed while Hamas remains in control, Gazans tell ‘Post,‘”):
“No one can imagine the level of fear and intimidation Hamas has instilled in people’s hearts since its foundation in 1987,” said one Palestinian from Gaza City.
“People are simply too afraid to protest, even now after all what they’ve been through,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “This is because Hamas is still here, controlling people’s lives, and nobody can say a word,” he said.
There was widespread anticipation about whether the demonstrations, set for 4 p.m., would attract local residents, but it soon became clear that the June 26 protest failed, as almost no one showed up.
“It ended in failure because there was a lot of pressure on people to keep silent,” said the Gaza resident, speaking anonymously, out of fear of reprisal. “Anyone who even considered joining the rallies refrained from doing so, as participants were labeled traitors and agents of anarchy.”
Hamas totalitarian repression of opposing voices is a contributing factor to skewed media coverage of the conflict, which largely exonerates the terrorist organization which carried out the Oct. 7 atrocities of responsibility for the ensuing devastation of the coastal territory which it rules.