It is well known that the Israeli government and its military possess one of the strongest public relations operations in the world. Israel has become accustomed to criticism, and its officials excel at taking the lead in their messages, while other countries struggle with mixed messages and a lack of coherent thinking.
In Israel, spokespersons are always aware of the message, engaging in a war that is just as important as the soldiers fighting on the front lines. Senior correspondent for Sky News, Stuart Ramsey, recently analyzed, "We cannot see what Israeli forces are doing with our own eyes, so we rely on a set of images coming from the defense forces." He continued, "The clips are heavily edited—you cannot recognize the soldiers or locations... but they give us a glimpse of what the invasion of Gaza looks like. We write stories based on the images provided by the Israeli army, showing what their press office claims they depict. But Israel does not have complete control over the information."
Ramsey noted, "We have colleagues in Gaza sending in information from eyewitnesses about developments there, but just as we are not present with the Israeli army, they aren't present with Hamas either... The information war in the Middle East has a new player, which is the public relations machine of Hamas." Hamas releases images of its fighters emerging from tunnels and apparently engaging Israeli targets.
He added, "Since we cannot verify what the Israeli army is saying, we also cannot confirm the latest images from Hamas. However, from what I have observed through my experience in covering wars, I can confidently say that this is what the battlefield looks like." The latest broadcast from the Israeli army shows Israeli soldiers penetrating deep into Gaza and urban areas. The soldiers' heavy backpacks indicate that they carry everything they need to survive, suggesting an expanded operation deep within Gaza with little resupply, at least initially.
The movement of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and bulldozers aimed at clearing paths suggests they are making progress inside. The placement of wooden barriers by soldiers in homes indicates that they have already secured certain areas, according to Ramsey. Hamas released a video showing drone-captured images of an Israeli site with soldiers surrounded by a ring of tanks. This sends the message that the movement also possesses skills in technology and surveillance.
Ramsey stated, "One clip shows fighters emerging from a tunnel and apparently attacking Israelis, which is a clever part of public relations. It conveys messages to their audience: the tunnels are operational, surprise attacks are happening, and they are not defeated." He concluded, "Both sides realize that information messaging in this war is essential."
