Hey, would the people who claimed that Israel destroyed the Al-Ahli hospital lie to the media? And would the global media, especially in the US, allow that to happen?

Oh, let's not always see the same hands.

Earlier today, I predicted that Hamas would rush back to negotiations after Israel began its Rafah evacuation in order to stall the final consequences of the October 7 massacre. Sure enough, Hamas leadership in Doha announced that they had accepted a cease-fire proposal from Qatari and Egyptian negotiators:

Hamas said on Monday that it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, just as it appeared that the negotiations had fallen apart and Israel was heading for a military operation in Rafah.

The Islamist faction said in a statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's intelligence chief that it had accepted their proposal.

But did they? As it turns out, this looks more like a counterproposal than an acceptance of the terms to which Israel agreed earlier:

There were no immediate details about what the agreement entailed. However, later on Monday, Hamas official Taher Al-Nono told Reuters the proposal reportedly included, in addition to a ceasefire, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has already pointed out the difference, and says the terms Hamas added are completely unacceptable. They accuse Hamas of attempting to manipulate the media and Israeli public opinion through a bait-and-switch:

According to the officials quoted by the networks, the offer Hamas has accepted is one made unilaterally by Egypt and is not being taken seriously in Jerusalem before the details are clarified.

An Israeli official tells Reuters that the Hamas announcement appears to be a ruse designed to cast Israel as the side refusing a deal.

The official says the proposal Hamas has accepted is a “softened” version of an Egyptian proposal, which includes “far-reaching” conclusions that Israel cannot accept.

"We can probably anticipate an attempt by Hamas to call for renewed negotiations," I wrote in the earlier post, "if for no other reason than to forestall the attack again." That appears to have been exactly what happened here. 

The primary target for this Hamas propaganda tactic is almost certainly the Israeli public, where hostage families understandably demand a deal at nearly any cost. The launch of the Rafah operation already stoked anger, and now Hamas is dangling a hostage release in order to put pressure on Israel to withdraw. Will that work? It will in the short run, I'd bet. The announcement will force Israel to pause any military incursion into Rafah -- although not the evacuation -- while negotiators determine what agreement was made, if any. 

This maneuver is clearly not intended for the negotiators, though, but for the global media. They want to make Israel look like the aggressor, and for the media to blame Israel for the continuation of the war. Hamas has had a lot of success in manipulating media outlets into carrying their propaganda as 'reporting'; the Al-Ahli hospital 'strike' was only the most glaring example of their anti-Israel bias. 

Will the media swallow it? Come on, man.

Americans need independent media voices that can see through terrorist propaganda and Marxist manipuations. Become a HotAir VIP member today and use promo code FAKENEWS to receive a 50% discount on your membership.