Israel on Tuesday released a report it says refutes claims of starvation in Gaza in an organized media campaign. According to the report written by the IDF Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Hamas has been attempting to spread a false narrative to disparage Israel in the eyes of the world.
The report claims that there is are significant inconsistencies between the number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza and the actual figures documented and identified, including on social media.
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Hamas claims Gaza toddler is starving but records show he has a genetic disorder and was treated in Israel
Since early in July and while negotiations for a ceasefire were being held, Hamas claimed an increasing number of deaths linked to malnutrition. Until June, Hamas had reported 66 cases since the start of the war, but just one month later, it said 133 had died because of a lack of food.
Despite the reported rise in such cases, Hamas provided no identifying information about the deceased, as it had done previously. On July 19, for example, Hamas claimed 18 people died of malnutrition and on July 22, the terror group claimed 15 more had died.
But a review of social media posts revealed only a small number of deaths that could be tied to hunger. This discrepancy casts doubt on the credibility of the Hamas claims.
An Israeli probe into the cases revealed that most of the deceased had suffered from pre-existing medical conditions that had nothing to do with food shortages. Some of them had even been treated in Israeli hospitals before the war.
The report says Hamas has falsely claimed that 4-year-old Abdullah Hani Mahmad Abu Zarka, whose photo had been circulating on social media in recent weeks, was suffering from starvation, but an investigation by COGAT revealed he was suffering from a hereditary genetic disorder as were other members of his family and had left the Strip with his mother to receive treatment in Jerusalem’s Al-Makassed hospital, four months before the war.
Another example presented in the report was the death of 27-year-old Karim Khaled Aljamayal, who Hamas said died of starvation. The investigation revealed he had been suffering from a degenerative muscular disorder since early childhood and was paralyzed. His death the report claims, had nothing to do with the alleged famine in the Strip.
Israel insists in the report that there is no famine in Gaza, quoting health experts
