Thread by @mfg

I'm a Jew in NYC and I made friends with a Palestinian in Gaza this week. Using @Snap Maps I was able to build a personal connection with a complete stranger and learn from their first-hand experience of whats happening on the ground in real-time. Heres the story + some takeaways

I zoomed in on Gaza and tapped different locations to see user-generated content locals share on the map, raw, and uncurated by media outlets. When I saw a few people posting in English, I decided to add them and see if we could have a conversation

I was curious why so many in the north were not evacuating to the south. Inquiring more about Hamas there was fear of sharing details (ID blurred for safety). I sent a video of myself hoping to build trust. As you can see here they’ve confirmed that Hamas would not let them leave

We've seen examples of Hamas using Palestinians as human shields, in densely populated areas around schools, hospitals, and mosques to operate military activity, roadblocks stopping evacs, and even today, reports of Hamas killing those trying to leave

I was transparent sharing that I'm Jewish and pro-Israel. What he said next should remind all of us whether you're pro-Palestine or pro-Israel that there is only one enemy here: Hamas. Their terror does not discriminate. And there simply cant be and wont be peace if Hamas exists

We hear stories how Hamas steals aid from the Palestinian people allocating decades of resources to terror instead of infrastructure. How they smuggle weapons or materials to build weapons creating a trustless border. My new friend explains how Hamas steals their money as well

For those of you who have not seen the elaborate network of tunnels Hamas has invested in, this was reported on by Russian television in 2021.

While just one voice in Gaza, it's authentic. You feel the anxiety; the desire for peace. Yet people of Gaza can't speak their truth with Hamas in power. Westerners simplify this into just blaming Israel. Gaza is asking where are their Arab neighbors in fighting Hamas? #بدنا_نعيش

I share my concern of Antisemitism in America and what feels like a lack of support for Israel. “I would love to see America support peace, blame Israel for bad things they did to us but we need to support freedom from Hamas and other Islamic groups. They are killing us everyday”

I'll leave it here for now both of us knowing we have a new friend on the other side.

The only path to peace is if both sides condemn and commit to eradicating Hamas from the region. This should be a unified message fighting for the people who can't have a voice themselves.