How will Israel-Hamas war play out in 2024? Israel expert Hen Mazigg answers the big questions

How will Israel-Hamas war play out in 2024? Israel expert Hen Mazigg answers the big questions

I think that a lot of my Jewish friends and people that that I work with on October 7th were um we were devastated and broken but I think a lot of us also had some hope that the world will finally understand what we are dealing with and what we are fighting against um

The brutality and the levels of um targeted attacks on civilians to inflict pain on civilians on babies on on girls kidnapping babies and and and young girls um uh really was supposed to show the world um the enemy uh that we’re fighting with and instead many people were um actually celebrating this um

Characterizing it as Gaza breaking through and and showing the world um that they have strength and then quite quickly it turn into calls to um to make Israel uh stop the fire it’s when we hearing sisire it’s not about both sides stopping the fire it’s not about releasing the hostages it’s least not

The way that it’s been presented in the west um it’s all calls for Israel to stop its Rescue Mission um and on top of that we know that every time there’s a war in Israel um Jewish people around the world pay the price um as someone

That lives in in London um I see it uh daily um I see the protest I see the Palestinian Flags um I see the over million people going to those marches that we can debate whether or not they’re violent in my for to call for a genocide of people is violent I don’t

Think anyone in any Israeli protest was calling for genocide of Palestinians um but those protest themselves are really um uh triggering and and creating fear among Jewish um people in the west um and it’s uh I think that this coupled with the response International response from some world leaders um is is been

Probably one of the most uh um the Vol in volume has been the highest I’ve ever seen so with the IDF putting out content every single day with people like yourselves speaking out activists uh speaking out certain media explaining what Hamas is why is there still such a

Level of ignorance such a rise in in anti-Semitism is this information penetrating I think that is um penetrating some people that are open to hearing it um but in an age of social media when everything can be posted and shared there’s not really any way to um

To uh verify um tweets or posts of of any random accounts uh and knowing that um Qatar and Iran and Russia invested a lot of money into social media it’s been a focus of them for a long time um and we’re seeing that there’s a lot of preparation on the anti-israel side um

To Target people that have um impressionable Minds that are able to um uh to that that are uh susceptible to uh um to this sort of propaganda um and they are hearing messaging that has been tailored to them um you know it’s a the messaging around Gaza um has been really

Brilliantly uh crafted by uh Sinister actors and I think that’s why um so much of the volume of the conversation is so biased and Young Folks on on Tik Tok and on Instagram are receiving influx of of misinformation um uh I mean the the fact that Hamas is calling for the genocide

Of all Jews um and then Israel is the one being blamed of genocide or that Hamas is calling to again kill all Jews and then people call Israel a Nazi State Kamas has released all the footage they called um they they called for uh for violence they continue this this war for

So long and yet Israel is the one that is continuously being held accountable uh in this campaign again with all of those actors that um are being joined by Progressive activists which is really horrific to see people that fight for lgbtq rights supporting the side that is actually um

Anti-lgbt q and the same with women uh rights movements and black folks that um would otherwise I mean if they go to Gaza uh they would face insane amount of racism I’ve been to Gaza I’ve been to the West Bank I served there as an officer for five years

Working with Palestinians um I do think that Palestinians deserve every right and they deserve to be protected but how can they not see the amount of racism and hatred and homophobia um that is spread throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Street by Palestinians and still hold the belief that they should support

This side over Israel which is a liberal democracy so all of this is to say there’s a a massive campaign and there’s a lot of people that are are really I think good-hearted and they’re just falling to this propaganda and to the images that are being sent directly to

Them tailored to them with messaging that would uh uh would work on them and that’s why we’re seeing it as as bad as it is that’s a a very eloquent explanation of the problems on social media but why are we seeing still such a naivity in some newsrooms dissemination of information

That they’re receiving on on the ground from Gaza from Hamas essentially and and passing it off as facts why is that still such an issue for the likes of of the BBC Etc I think there is a correlation between the conversation on social media we know that journalists um use Twitter and and

They um and they want to get more uh viewership uh I’m reminded of many of the tweets of Pierce Morgan a very permanent journalist saying that it’s all about how many people engage with their with his social media content and how many view viewers he gets um and it

Seems like if you go on social media I don’t think it’s a reality but it seems like if you uh if you are promoting anti-semitic ideas you’re getting more clicks um and it’s the same with newsrooms and I think that there’s also this General narrative that has been

Built in um in newsrooms and in media in the west that Israel is the aggressor and that the Palestinians will always be the ultimate victim uh and I think that after October 7th when the news broke from Israel even then I mean on the first days of the war on October 7th I

Haven’t seen the the media really reporting it uh fairly um the coverage on the on the atrocities that happened to Israelis War always coming with some caveat of this is what the IDF is reporting this is what Israel is reporting as if they would lie I mean

This is a democratic state that um has checks and balances there’s people that I mean Israelis have been protesting in the streets against the government for for a year um to to say that or to equate Israel to the leadership of of the Palestinians in Gaza which is Hamas

Or to give it the same you know fair treatment uh in the eyes of the media um and and to believe immediately what Hamas is saying and the numbers that they’re saying um I mean Hamas hasn’t reported of any terrorist casualty we know that Hamas is wearing um civilian

Clothes uh in in Gaza we know that they’re not identifying themselves are actually shooting from hospitals and the media is completely uh um ignoring it and and trying to look the other way because it serves this narrative that has been built for so long I think in in international media that the

Palestinians are the uh are the oppressed and that Israel must be the oppressor and I think they couldn’t hold themselves on October 7th to uh to shift uh back to this uh uh to this narrative I’ve seen it on so many channels in the BBC in in other places where in the

Guardian articles uh of of thought leaders that if they spoke this way about any other minority group they would be cancelled in this country but it seems like this anti-Semitism and this idea that Israel must be uh at fault uh is the one thing that sells

Papers and we know how the media works and that’s why they continue uh pushing this narrative and there are a few examples that are uh that are honest uh but by and large I think that’s a big bigger problem uh in in the way that Israel is being presented as this white

Aggressor and the Palestinians are those brown oppressed people that’s the The View I guess of how things are from the outside looking in inside Israel the sense is that everyone almost everyone appears to be United in the determination to get rid of Hamas but beyond that there is

Differentiation in opinion on what is the best way of getting hostages back what should happen in terms of an intelligence failing report and what next for Netanyahu and the Israeli government just give us a sense of that where you see those different opinions uh yes Israel over I mean over the year

The last year even more than that uh has been um under um internal political turmoil where um Israelis have different opinions I mean even within the government there were different opinions um uh criticism of the government has been widespread and of netanyahu’s government uh specific speically Netanyahu himself has been the target of

Many of those protest protests and you know hundreds of thousands of people came out to the streets um and Israel is a tiny country of seven million people that uh when hundreds of thousands of people go out to the street it’s quite big and they went out to protest uh

Almost every Saturday um and when the war started I think in Israel there was some understanding that we all must come together right now and put our political differences aside because we are facing an exist existen Potential Threat and there are over back then there were over

200 hostages and we have to do everything we can to release them uh and and process the grief uh I read that the National Security in Israel awarded over 40,000 Israelis uh with um benefits as victims of terrorism and that’s a massive number I think in all of the war

All of the recent Wars uh there was only 9,000 people that were um considered to be victims of terrorism so to have 40,000 people isra that have been victims of this uh of this violent is just so great I think that’s why so many Israelis came together there was an

Understanding that we have this share of faith and and we have to to come together to um to save ourselves and our country um and I think as time went by um we’ve heard more and more politicians making um statements you know how politicians are it’s no different um in

Israel than it is in the UK or in the US um there a lot of politicians make statements that are um very uh um uh you know um upsetting uh or or or trying to make the news in Israel as well so we heard terrible statements that Israelis

Were standing against I think within the government the Coalition that was built in the war which include Benny guns uh which was in the opposition one of the biggest parties of the opposition he decided to join in the uh the war cabinet and and agree to create a Unity

Government just so we can just so they can manage the war uh but in recent weeks we’ve seen this crumbling a bit um with uh um some of the leaders uh of the of the former of the current government but that have been there from the beginning like itamar benv which is a

Radical right-wing um politician that has made um a lot of statements even the there was a whole debate now of of who’s going to be appointed as the head of the police um and that has been something that there was um disagreement and and um both sides were um I mean both Benny

Guns from opposition that is now part of the Coalition disagrees with uh with BV and then Nan was part of it so there’s a a whole internal um political issue that I think in the beginning of the war um they were able to put this aside and I

Think as the war progresses um it’s becoming more and more um prevalent and um even about the hostages and how to conduct the war um some of the hostage families are saying that um maybe stopping the war and agreeing to whatever Hamas conditions um are would

Be the best way to to approach it some ostrich families are saying you need to go on and just finish um Hamas and and not stop until Hamas is completely eradicated um and you know when the three hostage um were killed in in Gaza

By by the IDF it was a big tragedy in Israel um and I heard an interview with the mother of one of the hostages Iris Kim the mother of yam um and she was just brilliant she was saying how um it’s not the fault of the soldiers how

She understand the that the enemy is Hamas and that she can’t even imagine what they have went through um so those voices are still part of the society but there is a a vibrant debate within Israel because it is a democracy how confident are you that the IDF and the

Government is currently on the right course and doing the only method it can think of to get those hostages back if I was a Tik Tok influencer I would probably tell you with full certainty that I know exactly what the solution is and what uh what my thoughts are and why

My thoughts are absolutely correct um but the truth is that the reality um as someone that served in the Army for so long and has been working with the international organizations with Palestinian civilians has been part of fighting for peace in in Israel um I know that the reality is much more

Complicated and there’s much more Nuance uh I know that the leaders are getting advised by top experts that the idea f is doing everything they can because I I have friends that are um commanders and top Generals in the IDF that I’m speaking to on a daily basis or some of

Them that are in Gaza that I can speak to um but I trust that they’re doing everything they can to bring the hostages uh speaking to them I I know that for a lot of them while they are very angry and upset with what Hamas has

Done to us the main objective is to bring back the hostages and do everything they can to bring them back and the truth is that when Israel agreed to a ceasefire Hamas broke the ceasefire yes they released the few hostages um but then they went back I mean they

Continued shooting since 15 minutes into the ceasefire and now when Israel proposed another ceasefire through Egypt that Egypt supported and Qatar supported they still said no so the I think the the truth and the fact is that that Kamas has shown us is that um only if they are being pressured they would

Agree to release hostages and I think that’s what the IDF is focusing on right now is to put pressure on Kamas um and I’ve heard some interesting ideas coming out in Israel from uh some politicians saying that maybe if um the IDF would just pull back and uh will close the

Border with Gaza that would pressure Kamas I’m not sure that this is the way I mean I think that Israel still has responsibility for the human lives maybe we shouldn’t have but I think we do have that’s the reality uh so we can’t just let the Gaza Strip um being under

Blockade and not allow any humanitarian Aid there but um but I think that right now the operation of the IDF uh in on the ground is really a rescue mission more than a war I think that the focus is really to do everything they can to

To bring the hostages but that’s just my uh belief from my experience since the most recent ceasefire in which Hamas released a number of hostages what do we know now that we didn’t know then about their experiences and how much more concerning has that made things definitely more concern um some of the

Of the testimonials from the hostages have not been made public but um we know that um many of the girls that have been and the women that have been uh released uh spoke about rape uh there were some victims of rape um that because of the confidentiality of the medical files um

And the requests by the hostages not to the the released hostages not to share this information um it’s still kept in Israel um and I think that’s Israel is doing the right thing by not releasing this information and making it public um but some of the some of what we can

Discuss is that ostes have been sexually assaulted by Hamas on October 7th and after October 7th and in captivity um we know from um one hostage hostage that went on record um a mother that was held with her children that during their captivity they met other hostages and

And those are those were young girls that um told them that they been um sexually assaulted um we know that food is very um limited all of the a just came back with um several you know after they lost a lot of weight um they don’t have access to

Medicine a few of the hostages that were shot by Kamas on October 7th um were uh operated by one of them was operated by a Veterinary um without uh um without being I mean in full with full conscious she was uh going through uh an operation

Uh which was horrific um we heard that a kid was held in was that was held hostage was forced to watch uh the videos of October 7th the horrific videos of the violence um and just to be in in captivity for over 80 years be it underground or in wherever it is by

People that have have committed such horrific atrocities um is just terrible um we also know that uh the United Nations um teachers were participating in holding um israeli’s hostages there were doctors pasian doctors that held um hostages as well in their homes um there were doctors that were part of uh

Bringing the hostages in to elifa hospital on October 7th according to cameras from alifa hospital in Gaza um so the the situation is critical and I think that’s what I’m hearing from the families that I speak to quite often uh the families of the hostages every minute is critical they um they’re

Beyond worried um there’s no way to describe I mean a lot of them don’t sleep they barely eat they just think about their um their families I heard today in Israeli radio um about aam aam uh was a 19-year-old um violinist from Israel that was kidnapped and her father

Was um was interviewed and he said you know I’m hearing about all the stories of the rape and all I’m thinking about that is that aam is one of the youngest girls that are held by Kamas for over 80 days and I and and I’m broken and he

Sent her a message and it’s it’s so horrific to to think what these families are going through um we we really need to do everything we can to bring them home intelligence will be a key part of making that happen in terms of the Israeli intelligence Community what are

You hearing in terms of its desire and ability to get at the Hamas leadership sinoa Etc yeah sinir and Muhammad have been the top priority of of Israel intelligence um both the um the intelligence from from the Israeli side of you know the technological part of the intelligence uh operations but also

Within Gaza they’ve put a bounty on their heads asking Palestinians to provide any information for um and to be compensated for it um they um they have been I mean that has been the main focus of of Israel to uh to bring those leaders because we know that they are

The ones responsible they are the the ones that um sent out the uh the man on October 7th and really orchestrated this um massacre in the way that it is and and the belief is that if if sinir and Muhammad de would be held uh taken then

It would um it would give a lot of comfort and would be a big step forward in ending the the war how long can Israel continue this military operation in Gaza whilst also keeping an eye on other fronts Lebanon the West Bank potentially is is is in a serious situation the hooti

Rebels in the in the Red Sea there’s a lot to potentially confront and even economically this is a massive undertaking for Israel as much as anything else yeah I think that Israel is fully aware of it and the leadership is aware of uh um the financial but also the

Security risk um we’re seeing multiple fronts that are being fought throughout this war specifically the northern one with kisah and the hoodis from um from Yemen which are not just affecting Israel it’s also affecting international trading I think that’s why America and the UK and other countries have shown

Interest in stopping the hooes the um this terrorist group in Yemen um and of course we know that there are other players in the region that um would want to um join this war and I think they’re not joining because it doesn’t benefit them at this point but uh to name a few

Iran is has been sending a lot of threatening messages to Israel and we know that they’ve been um supportive of Hamas financially and otherwise um and turkey today um uh erduan uh was making a statement that um Israel is committing a genocide um I mean that’s or or

Calling Nan rather uh um Nazi or Hitler um and this is coming from rajib arduan that is refusing to acknowledge the um the Armenian Genocide where over a million people were were killed um but I think all of this is just showing how delicate the in this region is and we

Know that America has been one force that has held Israel from uh going into a um an multif front um uh all out War um and I think that’s positive I don’t think Israel is in a place that we can go into a war with other um um countries

Um or I mean of course we can defend ourselves but um I think the focus of Israel right now is Gaza to release the hostages and to end Hamas um and I think that to do that it will require a few more months um that’s what the

Leadership of of the Israeli Army and the Security leaders um have have said um in the last few weeks that um they think that it will take at least two or three months to um to finish the uh the operation and to release the hostages uh

And to um and to find an alternative to um to leadership in Gaza which cannot remain Hamas after October 7th um so I I think we are we are heading towards um at least until March um uh continuing uh this operation to release the hostages and to end Hamas in Gaza

Senior Fellow from the Tal Aviv Institute, Hen Mazigg speaks exclusively about how the Isreal-Hamas war will play out.

Hen has previously served in the IDF and within Gaza itself giving first hand insight into the conflict and it continues. Hen also discusses the rise in misinformation and propaganda following Hamas’ terror attack on the 7th of October and how this has led some to support Hamas without knowing all the facts.

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