5 Things They're Not Telling You About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Because you don't believe everything you read online at face value.... right? Didn't think so.

1. Many news sources, people on social media outlets, and, notably, Mahmoud Abbas are claiming that Israel is committing a senseless, genocidal crime on the Palestinians.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Israel did not start the fight. After over one hundred and fifty rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel and a cease-fire rejected, Israel had no choice but to take up arms in self-defense. Israel has been cited recently in Slate as showing a great effort in preserving Palestinian civilian lives. The Israeli army, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has been noted as being a moral army, perhaps the most in the world, as, for example, they warn civilians to evacuate the areas to be targeted. Keep in mind that the IDF is targeting Hamas command centers and key leaders, not everyday Palestinians. Life is precious, and they recognize that.

2. The tragic truth behind the casualties is that Hamas uses people to protect its weapons; Israel uses weapons to protect its people.

StrangeWorld0000 / Via youtube.com

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This video circulated earlier this week depicting a "senior Hamas activist" recounting an attack on Gaza. He outwardly states that the IDF warned them 5 minutes in advance to evacuate the area. However, instead of leaving the area and sparing lives, he telephoned others in order to rally men, women, and children to the targeted rooftops. What other army in the world warns the opponent before attacking? None. And yet, instead of taking those 5 minutes to save lives, Hamas uses those moments to find human sacrifices. In essence, Hamas wants Palestinians to be killed in these attacks, so that they may claim casualties and play the role of the oppressed, not the oppressor.

3. Pictures that depict the terror in Gaza aren't what you think they are.

BBC Trending

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: #IsraelUnderFire and #GazaUnderAttack have been trending topics on Facebook and Twitter since the escalation of the conflict. However, many pictures attached to #GazaUnderAttack that have been circulating are not accurate. At all. BBC published a short article and video to uncover the truth behind some pictures of #GazaUnderAttack. Several pictures were from previous conflicts in the region, such as in 2009. Many, however, were from completely different countries. The video highlights a picture of a young girl, covered in blood, which was attached to a tweet about Gaza. In actuality, the photo was from Syria. Know what you're posting and what you're sharing.

4. Israel is continually sending aid to Gaza throughout the conflict.

IDF.com

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: According to the IDF, as of Wednesday, July 9, one thousand, two hundred twenty-eight tons of food, two hundred ninety thousand liters of fuel, and three trucks of medical supplies have been sent to Gaza. The border remains open, even amidst the turmoil of the region. If Israel was out to commit a genocidal crime on the Palestinians, they would not be sending essentials to keep them alive. Common sense.

Haifa, a city on the coast of Mediterranean Sea and several hours north of Tel Aviv, is the home to a hospital that is treating people from Gaza who have been injured. i24 News reports that Yazid Falah, coordinator of Palestinian patients at Rambam Hospital, told his patients, "[T]here was no danger for them to be at an Israeli hospital. Here [at Rambam] we see humans; we don't see sides. At the end of the day, everyone is in the same boat." Palestinians are still able to seek medical attention in Israel.

5. In the time it took to write this article, 9 rockets were fired into Israel.

45 minutes. That's how long I've taken to write this article, and 9 (yes, NINE) rockets have been fired into Israel. Since I've been awake, 36 rockets have been fired. 4 of them were headed toward Jerusalem. That's a populated area, where Israelis and Palestinians both reside. Why would they target their own people? Muslims claim Jerusalem to be a holy site, and yet Hamas is targeting it with rockets.

If you can't believe it, see with your own eyes. Download the Red Alert: Israel app for your phone, which alerts you in real-time when rockets are fired into Israel. An example of PART of a normal day can be seen in the picture above. Try it out. After the first 30 minutes, I bet you'll think twice about the situation at hand.