FACTIFADA: Reference tools for navigating the Israeli-occupied Internet

Outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Palestine’s legal representative Paul Reichler tells Middle East Eye’s News Editor Sondos Asem that the ICJ’s advisory opinion on 22 October was a ‘historic’ affirmation of Israel’s legal obligations. He says the Court found Israel in breach of its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention for imposing a total blockade on Gaza between March and May 2025, causing starvation and humanitarian collapse. Reichler describes the ruling as a landmark clarification of Israel’s duties as an occupying power, and a warning that its conduct in Gaza violates international humanitarian law.

Avaaz/Reporters Without Borders (RSF)—Hundreds of media outlets, brought together by the campaigning platform Avaaz and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), are waging a campaign calling for the protection of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, the emergency evacuation of reporters seeking to leave the Strip, an end to impunity for Israeli crimes against Gaza’s reporters and that foreign press be granted independent access to the territory.

Originally published: 15 March 2024. Latest update: 5 July 2025.
“I, Lee Mordechai, write this document as a historian and Israeli citizen, as my testimony to the horrible current situation in Gaza as events are unfolding. I write my personal opinion as an academic, partially because of the disappointing general silence on this issue among many international and Israeli academic institutions, especially those that are well-positioned to comment on it, even as some of my colleagues have bravely spoken out. I do not believe this document will convince many others to change their minds. Rather, I write this publicly to testify that during the war there were and remain Israeli voices who strongly dissented from Israel’s actions.”

A shocking collection of before and after drone footage from the skies above Gaza, showing the scale of Israel’s genocidal war and its clear genocidal intent to make the Strip unliveable for the pre-October 7th population of 2.2 to 2.3 million Gazans.

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt, writes: “Genocide is a complex and insidious crime; proving destructive intent is an onerous task – yet not when it is so ostentatious, sustained by a political doctrine of ideological hatred and articulated through institutional structures and policies.”

Today the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

The ICJ today ruled to reaffirm its previous rulings and issue new orders to Israel to cease its Rafah offensive. It also ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing with Egypt for humanitarian aid and international inquiries. It also ordered Israel to report back in one month.

THE HAGUE, 10 May 2024. South Africa today filed an urgent request with the Court for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of provisional measures previously prescribed by the Court in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).

Overviews of destruction and eyewitness reports.

The ICJ reaffirmed its 26 January provisional orders to Israel, with only the Israeli ad hoc judge and Judge Sebutinde again voting against, and ruled unanimously in favor of South Africa’s 6 March 2024 request for additional provisional measures to stop the famine in Gaza. The court also ordered Israel to not commit any of the crimes of genocide and to report back in one month.

Israel has been relentlessly casting Al-Shifa as a HAMAS command center for months before the ground war even began. A look back at five months of failed Al-Shifa propaganda.

The IDF’s Twitter account today posted a video declaring: “Hamas terrorist funds found inside Shifa Hospital. Along with the funds themselves were notes thanking the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists for their ‘good work’.” The only problem with this latest piece of failed IDF propaganda was that the video attached to the tweet shows the exact opposite.

On 15 March 2024, OXFAM International released a 26-page briefing paper, “Inflicting Unprecedented Suffering and Destruction: Seven ways the government of Israel is deliberately blocking and/or undermining the international humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip”, to outline how Israel blocks and undermines international humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The United States announced that it had cut off aid to UNRWA immediately following the International Court of Justice’s ruling in South Africa’s genocide case but the United States—along with every other country in the world—has not taken even a single action against Israel, the party violating the Genocide Convention!

“In light of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and as our people continue their battle for independence, dignity and breaking-free from the longest-ever occupation during which they have drawn the finest displays of bravery and heroism in confronting the Israeli murder machine and aggression. We would like to clarify to our people and the free peoples of the world the reality of what happened on Oct. 7, the motives behind, its general context related to the Palestinian cause, as well as a refutation to the Israeli allegations and to put the facts into perspective.”

Today, on 9 January 2024, COGAT turned up the dial on its gaslighting stove to the very highest setting. Knowing that all the aid Israel has permitted to enter has averaged 76 trucks a day since October 7th, COGAT’s social media team cooked up a 1-minute video featuring spokeswoman Shani Sasson, introduced with the obviously false claim that, “Before the war, an average of 70 food trucks entered Gaza every day. The average last week was 109.”

While Internet claims of HAMAS atrocities perpetrated against Israeli babies had circulated from October 7, the “HAMAS beheaded 40 babies” story started to spread in earnest after the IDF arranged a October 10 tour for foreign journalists of the Kfar Aza town in Israel.

+972 Magazine was founded in 2010 as an independent, online, nonprofit magazine run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists. Local Call was established in 2014 by +972 Mag to promote citizen journalism, by Just Vision (a team of filmmakers, journalists, storytellers and human rights advocates), and by photographer collective Activestills.