Al Jazeera is currently reporting the following deaths in Gaza and the West Bank resulting from "Israeli attacks" since October 7, 2023:
Gaza Total Deaths: 14,400
- 5,600 children
- 3,550 women
West Bank Total Deaths: 219
- 50 children
Total Deaths: 14,619
- 5,650 children
The figures are repeated not only by Hamas/Terrorist apologists, but also some in the Western media, Hollywood bloviators, and pro-Palestinian supporters on University campuses and elsewhere.
Personally, when I look at the above numbers, I have many, many questions and I didn't graduate from an Ivy League school, either. So let's break the down a bit.
First, 39% of the reported deaths are children. How reasonable is that number compared to Palestinian demographics in Gaza and elsewhere? Well, according to the US Census Bureau, about 40% of Palestinians are children 14-years-old or younger. Therefore, at face value, these numbers would seem reasonable, right?
However, in order to believe these numbers, one would also have to make several assumptions:
1) IDF weapons target only civilians and then only when children are present at the exact demographic proportions; 2) Women, men and children evacuated to the south at the exact demographic proportions; and, 3) Israel is purposely targeting civilians and not terrorists/civilian combatants.
Second, 8,969 deaths are adults or 61% of the total reported deaths. Of those, at least 3,550 are reported to be woman or 40% of adult deaths. That leaves 5,419 adult men or 60% of the adult deaths. The demographic percentages for Palestinian men and women is actually 50/50 so the numbers are off a bit.
If we assume that the number of men killed is higher because the IDF is actually targeting fighters, based on demographic proportions, the number of reported deaths can be divided as follows:
Total Deaths = 14,619 (100%)
- Civilian Adult Women = 3,550 (24%)
- Civilian Adult Men = 3,550 (24%)
- Children = 5,650 (40%)
- Combatants = 1,869 (12%)
However, if we review un-staged raw images from the site of an attack we do not see evidence that 40% of the casualties resulting from an IDF strike are children. Because of this, except for images set up or produced by Hamas, the only evidence that exists to support claims that 40% of all Palestinian deaths are children are the Hamas's claims themselves.
If this were Ukraine, people would be screaming BS from the MSM to the college campuses. However, in the case of Israel, there are too many among us who have been conditioned to believe or assume the worst when it comes to Jews. Remember, Jews drink the blood of Palestinian children, right? So the IDF targeting children with bombs is not that far fetched of a concept.
Do you get my point?
The exaggerated casualty figures are easily explained when one understands that Hamas' only defense right now is to sway public opinion in the hope of generating enough diplomatic and political pressure to force Israel to end hostilities. In the case of others who spread these lies, like students protesting at universities in the United States, there really is not excuse for it. Instead, it is the direct result of years them being force-fed antisemitic propaganda from social media and the MSM.
Let's be clear about this. The death of any innocent child, especially one's own, is a tragedy that I could never fathom. However, by spreading these lies and by failing to recognize that there is a real threat of genocide against the Jews, those who claim to support Palestinians are actually doing them more harm than good. Israel will not stop defending itself until this real threat is eliminated. And the radical Islamists will not stop killing Jews as long as they continue to feel empowered which in their minds translates to justified.
RIA Novosti claims “the West” is preparing a nuclear provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP to blame Russia. It is another textbook example of the Kremlin using a Mirror Accusation Operation, a tactic often seen when narrative control begins to slip.
#OSINT
1/5
A Mirror Accusation Operation invents the crime in advance, blames the enemy, and hides real intent behind the fabrication. The story becomes a shield before the attack occurs.
RIA writers claim “the West will melt down reactor cores” and “EU citizens will suffer.”
2/5
Fear mixed with technical language makes a lie sound factual. It is emotional engineering, not analysis.
Fighting continues in Pokrovsk, but Russian claims of “occupation” remain premature. Verified footage shows small recon groups, not an occupying force, operating inside the city, which remains contested and under Ukrainian control.
Map: @Majakovsk73
#OSINT
1/9
Ukrainian drone footage confirms that most Russian activity inside the city consists of diversionary reconnaissance groups (DRG). They probe defenses, adjust fire, and withdraw before counterstrikes. These are not occupation units but transient formations exploiting gaps in surveillance.
#OSINT
2/9
Those areas remain "grey" (contested).
Pokrovsk sits on vital road and rail junctions feeding the northern Donetsk contact lines in the Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Kostiantynivka sector. Ukraine continues to maintain control of these critical ground lines of communication (GLOCs) ...
Bloomberg reports that Russian oil supplies to India will drop to almost zero following new U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil. It’s the first major ripple from Washington’s renewed pressure on Moscow’s energy sector. For nearly two years, India has been the Kremlin’s economic ...
#OSINT
1/4
... lifeline—buying discounted crude, refining it, and re-exporting the products worldwide. That loop helped Russia skirt earlier sanctions and keep wartime revenues flowing.
Targeting Rosneft and Lukoil cuts straight into that workaround. Without those firms’ crude and logistics networks ...
2/4
... ,Indian refiners face banking, insurance, and shipping barriers too costly to ignore. The “discount oil” era may be ending. It’s also the first time since Big-T’s return to office that U.S. sanctions have bitten this hard. For Moscow, the cost is lost revenue.
3/4
Good news about AFU combat operations from Pres. Zelensky:
"We are currently conducting one of our counteroffensive operations – the guys are doing great – in the Donetsk direction, in the area of Pokrovsk, in the area of Dobropillia. Fierce battles, but we managed ...
#OSINT
1/5
... to inflict significant losses on the Russians. Today was the first report from Commander Syrskyi on the results. Since the beginning of the operation, our warriors have already liberated 160 square kilometers, and more than 170 square kilometers have been cleared of the occupiers.
2/5
We have significantly replenished our exchange fund – there are already almost a hundred Russian prisoners of war, and there will be more. Seven settlements in the direction have already been liberated, and nine more have been cleared of Russian presence.
3/5
There are some positive outcomes from the White House meeting with Ukrainian and European leaders yesterday being reported by Pres. Zelensky on his TG social media account and the foreign press:
🔹I am ready to meet with Putin;
#OSINT @threadreaderapp unroll
@threadreaderapp 🔹There is an agreement with the USA for Ukraine to purchase weapons worth $90 billion (Ed; This may include purchase of up to 10 Patriot air defense batteries);
🔹Security guarantees are the starting point for ending the war.
@threadreaderapp The US is sending a clear signal that they will coordinate and assist, and will also be a participant in security guarantees for Ukraine. There is political will and political decisions. Ukraine or others will pay for the costs of US support;
"...everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE -- ALL THINGS NOT GOOD."
In the below post from yesterday, the President expresses the above which I find to be very telling in terms of how he now views the conflict in Ukraine.
#OSINT 1/7
First, it is the only time I can recall that he did not try to assuage his criticism of Russia (or Putin) by adding the caveat that he was equally disappointed with Ukraine (or Zelensky).
2/7
(Note: He also calls out China and India specifically for enabling Russia without blaming Biden or EU leaders for the war.)
In short, it is the only, or a least a rare moment when he has squarely placed all of the blame for the war and the killing in Ukraine on Russia (Putin).
3/7