The terrorist organization Hamas has been distributing dramatically edited recordings of recently killed hostages. This is part of their war.
Hamas fighters target Israeli tanks in Rafah. Hamas video released on August 6, 2024 Photo: HAMAS MILITARY WING/Flyer (Courtesy of REUTERS)
The news that Hamas had shot six Israeli hostages in the head came just a day after the terrorist group released a video on September 2 that appeared to be a trailer for a thriller film: Hersh Goldberg-Pauline, Kamel Gat, Almog Sarouci, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi and Alexander Lobanov, who were kidnapped in Gaza on October 7, are identified in the short video. The video ends with a cliffhanger text in Hebrew, English and Arabic. The Islamic terrorist group will show the last words of the six killed in the coming hours.
The production of this video, which is being distributed through a Telegram channel close to Hamas, is impressive. The black-and-white footage was edited with visual effects, and the video was set to music with dramatic minor chords from synthesizers and violinists. Hollywood remembers propaganda more than Islamists.
This is the latest attempt by Hamas to influence the Israel-Gaza war through the media. The strategy began on October 7: When heavily armed terrorists swept through the southern kibbutz and committed massacre at the Nova Festival, they had GoPros and other cameras.
Many of the videos from October 7th have a first-person shooter-like perspective. The terrorists are seen executing defenseless civilians at close range, even beheading them, and filming their actions. In one video, the perpetrators repeatedly kill the camera, seemingly dissatisfied with the results, like a film director.
Image of horror
“Terrorism requires images,” Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann, a film scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told taz. He also recently researched social media videos about the Gaza war.
“The recording on October 7 was intended to send a message to the Israeli people: that Israel is not safe and that the destruction that has been predicted for a long time could actually happen.” Ebbrecht-Hartmann sees this as terrorist dramatization. Basically, a script is provided and the plot continues to this day.” Ebbrecht-Hartmann said the video is part of the war and is intended to provoke a certain reaction. In this way, Hamas has been able to activate the global public. “These terrifying images spread quickly on social media, portraying the terrorists as resistance fighters. The recording has millions of viewers on Telegram.”
“From the very beginning, since October 7, such videos have been a very targeted part of Hamas’ military strategy,” explains Hans-Jakob Schindler. He has been working with Islamic terrorist organizations for many years. From 2014 to 2018, he was the coordinator of the UN Security Council’s monitoring team on Isis, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and is currently the senior director of the NGO Countering Extremism Project.
“Hamas relied on the power of image because they knew that their own military was never enough against the Israeli military,” Schindler said. And it’s not just about attacks on Israel, it’s about the destruction of Gaza and the suffering of Palestinian civilians where Hamas hides. It’s a psychological warfare aimed at putting political pressure on the Netanyahu government while creating fear among Israeli civilians. “These propaganda images also say: We are powerful and effective,” Schindler continued.
Mark the enemy
This can be seen in professionally edited Hamas videos that include the infamous red triangle that marks Israeli soldiers, positions or tanks as targets. It is also reminiscent of a shooting game. The impact of these propaganda videos is enormous. Now, this symbol is used by pro-Palestinian activists around the world to mark their enemies. It is sprayed on house facades or added to people’s photos on social media.
This media strategy is not new. “In early 2014, Isis produced a very professional video about combat operations in Iraq and Syria, modeled after a first-person shooter game,” explains terrorism expert Schindler. It is a type of propaganda now used by right-wing terrorists from Christchurch to Halle. In Isis’ case, the infamous video of a hostage beheading was primarily intended to intimidate.
The Hamas hostage video is currently receiving a lot of attention internationally, but its purpose is different from that of ISIS. The terrorist organization released one of the hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped at the Nova Festival in April. Goldberg-Polin’s fate was known worldwide and he was a valuable bargaining chip for Hamas. In the video, his head is shaved and his left arm is cut off while he was being held hostage after the terrorists wounded him with a grenade. The video is accompanied by a melancholic piano melody, which stimulates emotions. It is a sign of life and a means of pressure at the same time.
On September 1, Goldberg-Pauline’s family announced that Hersh was one of six hostages found dead in an underground tunnel in Rafah. Hamas executed them just before Israeli troops reached them.
Name circled in red pen
Hamas is now continuing this terror through the media. And with the latest hostage video with Arabic and English subtitles, she wants to put new pressure on Israel. The terrorist organization released the first of the promised videos on September 2, the evening of the “trailer”, containing the “last words” of 24-year-old Eden Yerushalmi, who was also kidnapped at the Nova Festival.
Yerushalmi urges Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebrew to deal with Hamas. “Do what is necessary to rescue us now,” she says angrily into the camera, blaming only Israel for the hostage situation. “I am suffering, we are all suffering.” In the text overlay, Hamas emphasizes that if Israeli forces try to rescue them, more hostages will be killed.
Ori Danino’s video was made on September 3, Carmel Gat and Alexander Lebanov’s on September 4, and Goldberg-Polin’s on September 5. However, it is not known when they were recorded. Gat turned 40 in May, but he says he is 39. Again, aesthetics play a role. At first, the hostages’ photos are shown as files, and their names are circled in red pen. Soundtrack: dark synth tones and military drum beats. Finally, there is an hourglass graphic and the phrase “Time is running.”
Matthew Levitt, director of the counterterrorism program at the pro-Israel Washington Institute, said the thriller-like music and production style was meant to convey a sense of urgency and tension, suggesting that otherwise the remaining hostages would not survive. The goal, Levitt said, was to incite global protests against Israel, putting pressure on Europe, Qatar and Egypt. It’s a plan that’s partially working.
Worldwide online
The video was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Telegram alone within hours, with many users leaving fire or heart emojis under the post. The hostages’ messages were clearly readable, even amid the threats. International law experts have reportedly concluded that not only is taking hostages illegal under international law, but the production of such videos could also be a war crime. The New York Times.
Hamas’ media strategy poses a challenge to social media platforms. Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project criticizes all platforms, especially Telegram and X (formerly Twitter), for doing too little to combat Islamic terrorism and for being quick to remove content.
Telegram has now blocked some official Hamas channels in some countries, but some Hamas-related channels remain online globally. And if you look at the X, you’ll see a number of high-level accounts sharing Hamas propaganda.
News organizations are also at a loss as to whether to show such footage. “The video is a valuable source of documentation,” Schindler says. “But it plays into Hamas’ hands to continue to spread this propaganda.”
