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Rabat_ In an ongoing effort to silence anyone who dares to expose or document its genocide in Gaza, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have accused Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal of being a Hamas fighter—an outright attempt to justify their plan to kill him.
In a statement that effectively serves as a death threat, the IOF claimed Bassal, who has served in Civil Defence since 2008, has misused his role as a spokesperson by “spreading false and unverified information to international media, falsely attributing war crimes to Israel, and presenting fabricated data.”
The IOF then revealed their true intent by acknowledging that Bassal’s disclosures reached the global media and caused “a severe distortion of the reality on the ground,” undermining his narrative, delegitimizing him, and isolating him before executing their final step.
Their “evidence”? A list written in Arabic, which they claim is a “Hamas membership list”—a fabrication that exposes their blatant disregard for truth and their willingness to manufacture whatever is necessary to legitimize further crimes.
This pattern has become increasingly evident since October 2023, as Israel’s impunity and the unconditional support from Western powers embolden its efforts to spread propaganda. It has been enough for Israel to produce any document in Arabic for Western media to run it as “evidence,” regardless of its credibility.
This tactic echoes the November 2023 storming of Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza, when the IOF baselessly claimed the hospital was a Hamas base. During that raid, former IOF spokesperson Daniel Hagari displayed a list he claimed was a Hamas rota for guarding Israeli captives—only to reveal a calendar with days of the week written in Arabic, a relic of decades of anti-Arab propaganda and Islamophobia.
The IOF’s recent statement not only targets Bassal but also aims to tarnish the entire Civil Defence in Gaza. Familiar with Israel’s playbook of smear, isolate, and assassinate, the Civil Defence issued a firm response, condemning the accusations as incitement.
“We reject the inciting Israeli allegations against the Civil Defence and its official spokesperson, and we warn of their malicious intent,” declared the press release.
The organization also revealed that it has received numerous messages from international media outlets, stating that Israel has contacted them directly, urging rejection of the Civil Defence’s narrative.
“We strongly warn against falling for the dangerous smear campaign orchestrated by the Israeli occupation army, which seeks to bring our institution and its official spokesperson under a calculated smear campaign, the consequences of which we deeply fear.”
The Civil Defence called for urgent intervention from the International Civil Defence Organisation, human rights bodies, and press freedom advocates to prevent this campaign of lies from succeeding.
“We urge them not to fall for Israeli black propaganda or its inciting media [ ] Our mission is clear: to provide humanitarian service to those enduring a genocidal war for many months,” they affirmed.
This smear campaign mirrors Israel’s tactics against UNRWA, a vital lifeline for Palestinian rights. Israel falsely accused UNRWA personnel of involvement in the October 7 attacks, without providing substantial evidence, leading to cuts in Western funding—further crippling Palestinian resilience.
In October 2024, Israel accused Hossam Shabat, who had been one of the last journalists reporting on the atrocities in northern Gaza, of being a Hamas member—before intentionally killing him in March, revealing once again the genocidal intent behind Israel’s actions.
As Israel’s campaign of genocide in Gaza intensifies, every Palestinian with a phone has become a journalist, exposing Israel’s true face to the world as a genocidal, apartheid state that has long maintained a façade of being “the only democracy in the Middle East” while systematically erasing Palestinian existence.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Israel has so far killed at least 184 journalists in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon since October 2023—the deadliest period for journalists since records began in 1992. Their absence is painfully felt across social media and news outlets, as many Palestinians are too starved, injured, or silenced to document their own annihilation amid Israel’s unchecked brutality.
