246. What narrative was imposed during Operation Protective Edge 2014?

Hamas was able to impose several narratives during this war. On Aug/29/2014 Ishmael Haniyeh (leader of Hamas) declared to Al-Jazeera: “Our narrative has taken advantage. Our supporters have become the river in which the global media quench their thirst for information about what is happening”. The media were broadcasting quite unsustainable affirmations: 1) It was assured that Hamas had become moderate, because of its ideology or because it was feeling “isolated”; 2) It was said that Hamas was acting that way because Israel maintained the occupation (?), and 3) The threat against Israel was minimized assuring that Israel was starving the Palestinians in Gaza. The most important discussion was about the number of civilian deaths during Protective Edge. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, vilely affirmed that “about 74%” of the Palestinian mortal victims were civilians. The numbers presented by the UN were based on the information provided by the Ministry of Health of Gaza (offered by Ashraf Al-Kidra), directed by Hamás. The UN and other Palestinian sources stated that 2,100 Palestinians lost their lives. On Dec/1/2014, the Meir Amit Center for Intelligence and Terrorism Information informed in a detailed analysis, name by name, the 1,598 Palestinian mortal victims during Operation Protective Edge, 75% of all the deceased. Of the victims that were identified, approximately 45% were not combatants, while 55% were. During Protective Edge 2014 the relationship between civilian and military deaths was 1:1, a noticeably low proportion compared to the somber war standards against terrorists that use human shields or that hide among civilians intentionally. The efforts of the coalition in Afghanistan, for example, result in a proportion of 3 to 1, and 4 to 1 in Iraq.