Amid the onslaught of stories of death, deception and brutalities by Hamas terrorists in Israel, this journalist texted one of the survivors of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-israelis-massacred-at-music-festival-644670">Re'im music festival massacre</a>. The event targeted by Hamas on October 7 was an open-air psychedelic trance festival, organised to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, near the Re'im kibbutz area close to Gaza Strip.

According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists emerged from pickup trucks bearing Hamas military markings. Some landed on paragliders.&nbsp;

In the indiscriminate shooting that followed, about 260 were killed.&nbsp;

Young women were sexually assaulted. Several kidnapped.

In the visuals released online later by Hamas-affiliated social media accounts, one could see women paraded through streets, blood streaming down from between their legs.

"Hamas must be erased from this world. Since the end of Nazism, there was never a thing as evil as them," Guy Danon, one of the survivors of the music festival massacre, told me over Instagram.&nbsp;

"Palestine deserves to live peacefully and free from Hamas," Danon added.&nbsp;

Hours before texting Danon, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israel-teen-survives-hamas-gunfire-after-parents-die-shielding-him-with-their-bodies-645633">a story of Israeli musician parents killed while shielding their son from Hamas' onslaught</a>, was among the most read news items on the WION website.&nbsp;

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2023/10/12/385678-untitled-design-2023-10-12t065244125.png?imwidth=1920" />

Shlomi Mathias (R) plays the guitar as his wife, Debbie ‘Shahar’ Mathias, laughs next to him. The two died while shielding their son Rotem (16) from Hamas' gunfire | AP 
 
They were the family of a music teacher father and singer-songwriter mother, who had plans to attend a Bruno Mars concert in Tel Aviv the following day. The 16-year-old Rotem Mathias survived as his parents' bodies acted as shields to keep him alive amid a barrage of gunfire from Hamas terrorists.

These stories of survival reflect how the legitimate cause of a sovereign Palestinian homeland is losing the perception battle, courtesy the indiscriminate onslaught by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians, from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israel-vs-hamas-claims-of-beheaded-israeli-babies-at-massacre-site-create-shockwaves-645154">babies to youngsters</a> to the elderly.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israel-vs-hamas-claims-of-beheaded-israeli-babies-at-massacre-site-create-shockwaves-645154">Israel Vs Hamas: Reports of Israeli babies being massacred create shockwaves</a>

The retaliation from Israel has been deemed as disproportionate by many in and beyond West Asia, with scores of civilians in Gaza becoming nothing but collateral damage in hardliner Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign to decimate Hamas.&nbsp;

As India has often said, albeit in a different context related to its persistent tensions with Pakistan, terror and talks cannot occur side by side. Hamas, after morphing itself from a quasi-militant-political outfit into a full-fledged terror machine, is simply settling the score of an ethno-religious rivalry with a territorially assertive Jewish state.&nbsp;

As an outgrowth of Muslim Brotherhood's Palestinian branch, Hamas has been the de-facto governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007 when it ousted the Palestinian Authority from power. Since then, a total of seven reconciliation efforts have failed. Gaza faces blockade from both Israel and Egypt due to purported security concerns.

This is exactly why Palestinians should decouple the movement for homeland from terrorism perpetrated by the likes of Hamas.

For the state of Palestine to exist, the proxies of terror such as Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah must be de-legitimised, dismantled and decimated.&nbsp;

The latter two actions -- dismantling and decimation -- may partly occur by the actions of its primary victim (which in this case is Israel) but the act of de-legitimising terror for the pursuance of territorial sovereignty must take place from the side of Palestinians themselves.&nbsp;

While the Arab Spring of 2010s inspired pro-democracy demonstrations in both the West Bank and Gaza by Palestinians fed up with the years-long strife between Hamas and Fatah factions, the latter was virtually expelled from Gaza after Hamas ousted them in 2007 in a virtual coup.&nbsp;

In March 2018, Hamas was accused by Palestinian Authority of leading an assassination attempt on the then-Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.&nbsp;

With Hamas occupying the centre of Israel-Palestine conflict, the absence of a political process to achieve a viable two-state solution continues to be the biggest impediment to the peaceful settlement of the Palestine question.&nbsp;

For the scope of that settlement to emerge, Israel must win its war against terror in Gaza.

One may call Israel an occupying force, and list out all the occasions when its security forces targeted innocent Palestinian civilians. But all that amounted to nothing on a Saturday morning of mayhem, when visuals of youth running helter-skelter from the music festival amid the reign of terror shook the conscience of the world.

No Hamas, you don't attack a music festival to get support for your cause. You don't destroy unarmed families cowering in fear to legitimise your methods.

<img alt="Israel Vs Hamas" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dc3e419c-7427-4328-bb91-8a768e7dfb26" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20-%202023-10-13T204713.864.png" />

Children watch as civil defence responders search for victims in the rubble of a building after an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 13, 2023 | AFP

Because today's internet-mediated wars are not just about weapons. It's about perception.

And you, Hamas, have destroyed the aspirations of millions of Palestinians, and legitimised the ongoing counter-assault by Israel, giving it a free cheque in the eyes of international community, to avenge your blood-thirsty rampage.

October 7 was your miscalculation.&nbsp;

It might end your history as a player in the Palestinian question.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)&nbsp;

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Amid the onslaught of stories of death, deception and brutalities by Hamas terrorists in Israel, this journalist texted one of the survivors of the Re'im music festival massacre.

Amid the onslaught of stories of death, deception and brutalities by Hamas terrorists in Israel, this journalist texted one of the survivors of the Re'im music festival massacre. The event targeted by Hamas on October 7 was an open-air psychedelic trance festival, organised to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, near the Re'im kibbutz area close to Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists emerged from pickup trucks bearing Hamas military markings. Some landed on paragliders. In the indiscriminate shooting that followed, about 260 were killed. Young women were sexually assaulted. Several kidnapped. In the visuals released online later by Hamas-affiliated social media accounts, one could see women paraded through streets, blood streaming down from between their legs. "Hamas must be erased from this world. Since the end of Nazism, there was never a thing as evil as them," Guy Danon, one of the survivors of the music festival massacre, told me over Instagram. "Palestine deserves to live peacefully and free from Hamas," Danon added. Hours before texting Danon, a story of Israeli musician parents killed while shielding their son from Hamas' onslaught, was among the most read news items on the WION website. Shlomi Mathias (R) plays the guitar as his wife, Debbie ‘Shahar’ Mathias, laughs next to him. The two died while shielding their son Rotem (16) from Hamas' gunfire | AP They were the family of a music teacher father and singer-songwriter mother, who had plans to attend a Bruno Mars concert in Tel Aviv the following day. The 16-year-old Rotem Mathias survived as his parents' bodies acted as shields to keep him alive amid a barrage of gunfire from Hamas terrorists. These stories of survival reflect how the legitimate cause of a sovereign Palestinian homeland is losing the perception battle, courtesy the indiscriminate onslaught by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians, from babies to youngsters to the elderly. Also read | Israel Vs Hamas: Reports of Israeli babies being massacred create shockwaves The retaliation from Israel has been deemed as disproportionate by many in and beyond West Asia, with scores of civilians in Gaza becoming nothing but collateral damage in hardliner Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign to decimate Hamas. As India has often said, albeit in a different context related to its persistent tensions with Pakistan, terror and talks cannot occur side by side. Hamas, after morphing itself from a quasi-militant-political outfit into a full-fledged terror machine, is simply settling the score of an ethno-religious rivalry with a territorially assertive Jewish state. As an outgrowth of Muslim Brotherhood's Palestinian branch, Hamas has been the de-facto governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007 when it ousted the Palestinian Authority from power. Since then, a total of seven reconciliation efforts have failed. Gaza faces blockade from both Israel and Egypt due to purported security concerns. This is exactly why Palestinians should decouple the movement for homeland from terrorism perpetrated by the likes of Hamas. For the state of Palestine to exist, the proxies of terror such as Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah must be de-legitimised, dismantled and decimated. The latter two actions -- dismantling and decimation -- may partly occur by the actions of its primary victim (which in this case is Israel) but the act of de-legitimising terror for the pursuance of territorial sovereignty must take place from the side of Palestinians themselves. While the Arab Spring of 2010s inspired pro-democracy demonstrations in both the West Bank and Gaza by Palestinians fed up with the years-long strife between Hamas and Fatah factions, the latter was virtually expelled from Gaza after Hamas ousted them in 2007 in a virtual coup. In March 2018, Hamas was accused by Palestinian Authority of leading an assassination attempt on the then-Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. With Hamas occupying the centre of Israel-Palestine conflict, the absence of a political process to achieve a viable two-state solution continues to be the biggest impediment to the peaceful settlement of the Palestine question. For the scope of that settlement to emerge, Israel must win its war against terror in Gaza. One may call Israel an occupying force, and list out all the occasions when its security forces targeted innocent Palestinian civilians. But all that amounted to nothing on a Saturday morning of mayhem, when visuals of youth running helter-skelter from the music festival amid the reign of terror shook the conscience of the world. No Hamas, you don't attack a music festival to get support for your cause. You don't destroy unarmed families cowering in fear to legitimise your methods. Children watch as civil defence responders search for victims in the rubble of a building after an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 13, 2023 | AFP Because today's internet-mediated wars are not just about weapons. It's about perception. And you, Hamas, have destroyed the aspirations of millions of Palestinians, and legitimised the ongoing counter-assault by Israel, giving it a free cheque in the eyes of international community, to avenge your blood-thirsty rampage. October 7 was your miscalculation. It might end your history as a player in the Palestinian question. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

No Hamas, you don't attack a music fest: Palestinians lost perception war with reign of terror

The Israel-Hamas war has become one of the biggest humanitarian crises of this era as the Palestinians who are living in the Gaza Strip are struggling for basic resources such as food and clean water, electricity, and medicines as Israeli forces continue their fight to finish Hamas terrorists after their barbaric attack in southern Israel.

The Israel-Hamas war has become one of the biggest humanitarian crises of this era as the Palestinians who are living in the Gaza Strip are struggling for basic resources such as food and clean water, electricity, and medicines as Israeli forces continue their fight to finish Hamas terrorists after their barbaric attack in southern Israel. The ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas started in the first week of October after a surprise and unprecedented attack was launched by Hamas, but the war didn't happen overnight, it was building up over the years, keeping West Asia on the edge. What's the origin of conflict? The Partition Plan was agreed upon by the United Nations in 1947, which attempted to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, igniting the first Arab-Israeli War. Although Israel won the war in 1949, 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the land was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Also read: Who funds Hamas? How terror group gets money and military equipment What are the core issues of the conflict? The main issues include a two-state solution, Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, and refugees. First, let's discuss the two-state solution, which is an agreement that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. However, the concept of the two-state solution has been rejected by Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel wants the Palestinian state to be demilitarised, so that it isn't a threat to Israel. There are also issues with the Israeli settlements as some nations consider Jewish settlements built on land taken by Israel in 1967 to be illegal, but Israel disagrees. It says it has historical and Biblical links to the area. The continuation of its expansion is one of the most controversial problems between Israel and the Palestinians. Another burning issue, Palestinians want East Jerusalem, which includes sites sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians, to be the capital of their state. But Israel says Jerusalem should remain its "indivisible and eternal" capital. Israel's claim to the eastern part of Jerusalem is not recognised internationally. Former US president Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, without specifying the extent of its jurisdiction in the disputed city, and moved the US embassy there in 2018. The issue of refugees is also crucial to understanding the Israeli-Palestine conflict as today about 5.6 million Palestinian refugees, the majority are descendants of those who fled in 1948, live in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian foreign ministry says that about half of registered refugees remain stateless, many living in crowded camps. Also read: What are white phosphorus bombs that Israel reportedly used in Gaza? Is it illegal? What's the future of peace attempts? There have been several attempts to establish peace between the two, and also in West Asia. Egypt and Israel signed a peace pact in 1979, putting an end to 30 years of hostility. In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords on limited Palestinian autonomy. Israel and Jordan signed a peace pact in 1994. Then US president Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat failed to reach a final peace deal with the Camp David summit of 2000. The summit took place between 11 and 25 July 2000 and was an effort to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but ended without an agreement. In 2002, an Arab plan offered Israel normal ties with all Arab countries in return for a full withdrawal from the lands it took in the 1967 Middle East war, the creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees. But the peace efforts have been stalled since 2014 when talks failed between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington. Palestinians also boycotted dealings with the Trump administration over their refusal to endorse the two-state solution. Watch: Hamas planned to target Israeli schools, 'kill as many people as possible,' says report × What's the future of peace attempts? With the latest outbreak of war, concerns have grown over the recent attempts by the US to break a deal as on the day Israel declared war, President Joe Biden made a strong statement in support of Israel. The October conflict threw the United States 2023 effort to help mediate a normalisation agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia into disarray. This war is also a diplomatic challenge for Riyadh as well as for other Arab states, including some Gulf Arab states next to Saudi Arabia, that have signed peace deals with Israel. Also read: Revisiting Israel-Palestine historical conflict amid new escalation by Hamas Saudi Arabia has historically campaigned for the rights and safety of Israeli Arab Palestinians and a source told the news agency AFP on Oct 13 that Riyadh has suspended talks on potentially normalising ties with Israel amid raging war. The source familiar with the discussions told AFP that "Saudi Arabia has decided to pause discussion on possible normalisation and has informed US officials". (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Explained | What are core Israel-Palestine issues? What's the future of peace attempts?

In the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the gap between truth and falsehoods is growing wider by the day. A lot of credit for this goes to social media where misinformation is flourishing with fake videos and images going viral.

A video showed a truck-based missile launcher moving down a civilian area. This video was first shared by a US-based pro-Israeli account and has since been shared repeatedly with the claim that it's from Gaza. It claims that Hamas is using humans as a shield against Israel. But the video is fake.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here you see a Hamas rocket launcher parking in a civilian area to use humans as shields. Let no one fool you as to the true intent of Hamas - they want death of Israelis even if it means their own die too.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithIsrael?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IStandWithIsrael</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HamasTerrorists?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HamasTerrorists</a> <a href="https://t.co/LoF6USaBGM">pic.twitter.com/LoF6USaBGM</a>
— SZR (@SZR_London) <a href="https://twitter.com/SZR_London/status/1392509392130543621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

It's not even from Gaza, but finds origins in northern Israel and was shared in November 2018 by an Israeli news agency. These are Israeli trucks that got lost on their way and entered a village. The account that posted this video has taken it down saying “please accept my apology for the bad info”.

In another case, a video&nbsp;claims to show Israelis celebrating as a fire rages at the Al-Aqsa mosque. This video is being shared widely by pro-Palestinian accounts. They say Jews harmed their mosque and danced as it burned!

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Hundreds of Jewish settlers cheered and danced as a tree inside Masjid Al Aqsa was set on fire by occupying Israeli forces’ stun grenades yesterday. <a href="https://t.co/nhJgHW3IpP">pic.twitter.com/nhJgHW3IpP</a>
— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) <a href="https://twitter.com/5Pillarsuk/status/1392070739277357064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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The video is misleading for the mosque was never on fire, but a tree around it did due to fireworks during Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 10. Both the image and&nbsp;the video are still being widely shared on social media even in India. This misinformation and these lies could prove to be potentially deadly for both Israelis and Palestinians.

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Fatalities on the rise

The conflict is far from over and the skies are still burning on both sides with the death toll rising between May 10-17. A total of 12 people died in Israel - 10 were killed in missile attacks and two in civil unrest including a child.

In addition, 796 people have been injured. During the same period, at least 212 people have died in Palestine including 61 children and 34 women, three of whom were pregnant. Over 6,000 people have been injured in eight days of conflict. The timing for the conflict couldn’t be worse given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Gaza has only one lab to test virus cases. The health ministry says it has been destroyed in an airstrike.

In Israel, two foreign workers from Thailand have been killed in rockets fired from Gaza. Israel claims to have destroyed a rocket launching site used by Hamas in the Gaza strip. And Hamas claims to have struck Israel's Urim military base - vowing to strike more military facilities.

Amid this back and forth, both sides are failing to justify their actions. Last Saturday, Israel struck a building that housed two major media organisations - The Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Both their offices were destroyed in an air strike. Israel claimed that Hamas was using the building for its operations and promised to provide evidence for this. The Associated Press, based out of the US, first said that Israel hasn't provided it with any such evidence.&nbsp;On Tuesday evening, the US State Secretary said that “we have received some information, but it's not something I&nbsp;can comment on”.

International actions and consequences

The US is blocking a UN statement on the conflict calling for a ceasefire. The Israeli media says it's because the statement failed to condemn Hamas. Washington says it's because a ceasefire ultimately depends on the two parties involved, with or without a statement.

Reports say that the ongoing clashes have also led to a rise in anti-semitism. The UK’s Community Security Trust, a charity which looks after the safety of Jews in England says that there has been a five-fold increase in reports of anti-semitic incidents in recent days.

According to the charity, at least 86 anti-semitic incidents were reported in the UK between May 8-17. A Pakistan-based freelance writer working for the CNN put out the following tweet on Sunday - “The world today needs a Hitler”, a brazen display of hatred towards Jews.

The company in question had cut all ties with this person. Meanwhile, the international leadership remains divided. The starkest division is being seen in the Arab world.

Many Arab nations are walking a diplomatic tightrope especially countries like Morocco, Sudan and Bahrain which had recently normalised ties with Israel. Now, they have condemned the clashes but said very little about the situation in Gaza.

On the other hand, countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Maldives, and Iran have vociferously accused Israel of terrorising Palestinians. The President of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, along with the President of France Emmanuel Macron discussed mediating a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Reports say both countries also intend to seek the support of Jordan.

“For me, it is part of the process of achieving a ceasefire as quickly as possible, which is obviously what we want, and the construction of a possible path for discussions between the various parties involved. In this respect, we have decided to have a discussion in the next few days with president Sisi and the king of Jordan to try to see together how we can make concrete proposals on this path”, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

It may still take a while for the mediation process to begin. Until then, as we watch the developments, it's imperative that we don't feed the hostility with misinformation and provocative fake news.

In the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the gap between truth and falsehoods is growing wider by the day. A lot of credit for this goes to social media where misinformation is flourishing with fake videos and images going viral.

In the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the gap between truth and falsehoods is growing wider by the day. A lot of credit for this goes to social media where misinformation is flourishing with fake videos and images going viral. A video showed a truck-based missile launcher moving down a civilian area. This video was first shared by a US-based pro-Israeli account and has since been shared repeatedly with the claim that it's from Gaza. It claims that Hamas is using humans as a shield against Israel. But the video is fake. Here you see a Hamas rocket launcher parking in a civilian area to use humans as shields. Let no one fool you as to the true intent of Hamas - they want death of Israelis even if it means their own die too.#IStandWithIsrael #HamasTerrorists pic.twitter.com/LoF6USaBGM — SZR (@SZR_London) May 12, 2021 × It's not even from Gaza, but finds origins in northern Israel and was shared in November 2018 by an Israeli news agency. These are Israeli trucks that got lost on their way and entered a village. The account that posted this video has taken it down saying “please accept my apology for the bad info”. In another case, a video claims to show Israelis celebrating as a fire rages at the Al-Aqsa mosque. This video is being shared widely by pro-Palestinian accounts. They say Jews harmed their mosque and danced as it burned! Hundreds of Jewish settlers cheered and danced as a tree inside Masjid Al Aqsa was set on fire by occupying Israeli forces’ stun grenades yesterday. pic.twitter.com/nhJgHW3IpP — 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) May 11, 2021 × The video is misleading for the mosque was never on fire, but a tree around it did due to fireworks during Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 10. Both the image and the video are still being widely shared on social media even in India. This misinformation and these lies could prove to be potentially deadly for both Israelis and Palestinians. Fatalities on the rise The conflict is far from over and the skies are still burning on both sides with the death toll rising between May 10-17. A total of 12 people died in Israel - 10 were killed in missile attacks and two in civil unrest including a child. In addition, 796 people have been injured. During the same period, at least 212 people have died in Palestine including 61 children and 34 women, three of whom were pregnant. Over 6,000 people have been injured in eight days of conflict. The timing for the conflict couldn’t be worse given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Gaza has only one lab to test virus cases. The health ministry says it has been destroyed in an airstrike. In Israel, two foreign workers from Thailand have been killed in rockets fired from Gaza. Israel claims to have destroyed a rocket launching site used by Hamas in the Gaza strip. And Hamas claims to have struck Israel's Urim military base - vowing to strike more military facilities. Amid this back and forth, both sides are failing to justify their actions. Last Saturday, Israel struck a building that housed two major media organisations - The Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Both their offices were destroyed in an air strike. Israel claimed that Hamas was using the building for its operations and promised to provide evidence for this. The Associated Press, based out of the US, first said that Israel hasn't provided it with any such evidence. On Tuesday evening, the US State Secretary said that “we have received some information, but it's not something I can comment on”. International actions and consequences The US is blocking a UN statement on the conflict calling for a ceasefire. The Israeli media says it's because the statement failed to condemn Hamas. Washington says it's because a ceasefire ultimately depends on the two parties involved, with or without a statement. Reports say that the ongoing clashes have also led to a rise in anti-semitism. The UK’s Community Security Trust, a charity which looks after the safety of Jews in England says that there has been a five-fold increase in reports of anti-semitic incidents in recent days. According to the charity, at least 86 anti-semitic incidents were reported in the UK between May 8-17. A Pakistan-based freelance writer working for the CNN put out the following tweet on Sunday - “The world today needs a Hitler”, a brazen display of hatred towards Jews. The company in question had cut all ties with this person. Meanwhile, the international leadership remains divided. The starkest division is being seen in the Arab world. Many Arab nations are walking a diplomatic tightrope especially countries like Morocco, Sudan and Bahrain which had recently normalised ties with Israel. Now, they have condemned the clashes but said very little about the situation in Gaza. On the other hand, countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Maldives, and Iran have vociferously accused Israel of terrorising Palestinians. The President of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, along with the President of France Emmanuel Macron discussed mediating a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Reports say both countries also intend to seek the support of Jordan. “For me, it is part of the process of achieving a ceasefire as quickly as possible, which is obviously what we want, and the construction of a possible path for discussions between the various parties involved. In this respect, we have decided to have a discussion in the next few days with president Sisi and the king of Jordan to try to see together how we can make concrete proposals on this path”, French President Emmanuel Macron said. It may still take a while for the mediation process to begin. Until then, as we watch the developments, it's imperative that we don't feed the hostility with misinformation and provocative fake news.

How misinformation on social media is worsening Israel-Gaza conflict