THREAD: Can someone explain how this supposed Israeli "deception" using media worked to lure Hamas into tunnels?

Here's what we know, and the QUESTIONS it raises about timing and Hamas intel and what did/did not happen.

jpost.com/israel-news/id…
This is now becoming controversial because of allegations the IDF spokespeople misled foreign journalists (they didn't provide the same info to local journalists);
Prior to the evening's controversy, Israel had called up 9,000 more reservists "units from three brigades are readying plans for a ground incursion, pending approval by Israel's political leaders"...a ground attack plan was put in place, theguardian.com/world/2021/may…
Let's go back to that night. At around 12:03am May 14 first reports of massive IDF strikes on Gaza, this was considered a major escalation by those near and in Gaza, many people fled inside the Gaza Strip.
Around 12:22am the IDF released this ambiguous tweet that made it seem a ground incursion was underway.
At 12:42 @TreyYingst notes that "Israel is attacking Gaza from the ground and air. This is NOT a full-scale ground operation."
At 12:45am border communities were told to shelter in place as the operation unfolded apparently via @manniefabian
By 1:20am journalists said they had received word from the IDF that troops "Troops on Ground"
Between 1:46am and 1:56am Israeli sources said no such operation was taking place ; via @AmichaiStein1

At 1:58am @ignis_fatum noted that Israeli and Palestinian media both were saying the opposite, and he wondered if foreign media were misquoting via @ignis_fatum

The confusion continued through 2am Israel time. See for instance @Joyce_Karam series of tweets looking at the issue
By 7 am in the morning the IDF was beginning to release details of the large operation;
But the story of the "deception" lacks clarity because reports say the massive operation began around 11:30pm on May 13 which was prior to the supposed misinformation going out about the "ground attack" beginning...
So what happened, "According to reports, due to the deployment along the border and the news coming out in the foreign media of a ground incursion, Hamas and Islamic Jihad sent their first-line of defense into the tunnels to start taking up positions," @yaakovkatz wrote.
But the timing doesn't make sense. The massive strikes began before the foreign media reports about the "ground attack"...how can you carry out an attack prior to the ruse being fed to the media?
We still don't know how many Hamas members were supposedly killed. We do know that some media feel they were taken advantage of. However, something else doesn't make sense. Why would Hamas, with its own intel on the ground near the border, rely on foreign media for information.
Hamas knows the ground, many of the commanders have grown up their whole life fighting Israel, in 2009, 2012, 2014, they know Israel's methods. Why would they be so easily deceived? Didn't their local commanders tell them "there is no ground assault, we are under air attack."
It's not the first time there was a ruse, in 2019 face casualties were "evacuated" during a Hezbollah attack, apnews.com/article/hezbol…
Now Israel is accused of using media to trick Hamas. The question remains whether Hamas was tricked, why it was tricked, and even IF it was tricked, given the timeline above; arabnews.com/node/1858916/m…
Again. I want to reiterate...Hamas commanders might read foreign media...but even if they did, wouldn't they consult with each other before sending hundreds of men to the front. It's not a stupid organization. It has planned this recent escalation carefully and set the tempo.
I want to add one last thing, I was told at 12:45 am that there were no Israeli ground forces inside Gaza and I confirmed this and tweeted it around 1:58am. So many people tweeted the opposite. Hamas could have read those tweets too from many serious journalists.

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More from @sfrantzman

17 May
Thread: Israel worked hard to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza as it has increasingly done since 2014; but something has changed a bit over the last years. Israel’s attempt to manage the conflict with Hamas led to a desire for not having casualties among low level Hamas members
Israel says that it works hard, often with a lot of time invested in warning people to leave buildings before they are struck, which means Hamas members leave too. Israel says it does everything it can to avoid hurting civilians.
But the time taken to evacuate buildings means civilians and Hamas members evacuate. What’s strange is that there are mistakes where civilians are hit. It does appear Israel has worked hard to not have large numbers of militant casualties also.
Read 7 tweets
15 May
Want to know Iran's plan for the Hamas war on Israel. First of all the short article about IRGC Quds Force head Email Ghaani speaking with Hamas leader Haniyeh is one indication: tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1400/0…
However the BIG news is this article at Tasnim revealing the Iran war plan against Israel air defenses "therefore in the event of a multi-front war, this system will not be able to respond to rocket and missile attacks." tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1400/0…
This is no small report above, this is a sophisticated explanation of how Iran sees the war Hamas launched on May 10. Iran is testing Israel and it is using Hamas to do this. This is not just some "by chance" Hamas strikes here and there. This is a sophisticated war plan.
Read 4 tweets
15 May
...the whole idea of purposely destroying a large building where the international media are...so they can all film it...how exactly does it hurt Hamas and help Israel...or is the goal of Israel's leaders just to kind of erode Israel's image internationally. Unclear.
...it seems to me Hamas has continued to rain down rockets on Tel Aviv...and Israel's "answer" is to blow up some building so it can be filmed...like that doesn't stop the rocket fire...
Read 6 tweets
15 May
🧵 when there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas...and both will claim “victory”...what exactly was achieved.

Nothing.

We will hear analysis about how Israel achieved “quiet” and Hamas was able to test Israel’s defenses at the behest of Iran.

People suffered and died
This entire Gaza conflict was driven by Hamas, from the first rocket on Jerusalem, a carefully executed plan exploiting tensions. Israel walked into it, or rather slouched into it amid an internal political crisis and bad planning about how tensions in Jerusalem would boil over
A public recently released from lockdowns with simmering tensions was RADICALIZED by images on social media spread by both sides, youth went to fight, lunch and burn cities while authorities fiddled.
Read 8 tweets
14 May
Iran's Press TV appears to have inside info on Hamas tactics, going beyond most media reports about its strategy of trying overwhelm Iron Dome, and its attempt to hit infrastructure and airports
Iran says the "balance of power" has shifted, an indication of how closely it is watching Hamas tactics; presstv.com/Detail/2021/05…
Read 4 tweets
13 May
A lot of great threads out there on Hamas showcasing its drone capabilities; let me mention them first and then add a few things. video and it comes in the wake of Iran apparently using drones to attack Israel; Iran has used UAVs in the past #dronewars
What's new in the Hamas Shehab may be the design which is linked heavily to Iran's Ababil (ابابیل) and the Houthi Qasef, note @CalibreObscura explanation
Read 10 tweets

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