The Israeli media has been accused of manufacturing consent for the government’s actions in Gaza, while ignoring the suffering of the Palestinian people. Following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood outside Beersheba’s Soroka Hospital, condemning the Iranian government. “They’re targeting civilians because they’re a criminal regime.
They’re the arch-terrorists of the world,” he said, without acknowledging Israel’s own attacks on hospitals in Gaza, which have pushed the healthcare system to near total collapse.
Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog and opposition leader Yair Lapid, have made similar accusations against Iran, but their statements have been criticized for omitting the impact of Israel’s actions on Gaza. Analysts say a media ecosystem exists in Israel that amplifies the government’s calls for war while reinforcing claims of victimhood, shielding the Israeli public from the suffering its forces inflict on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Journalist Orly Noy stated that the Israeli media sees its role as shaping and molding public opinion to support war and aggression. “I’ve seen [interviews with] people who lived near areas where Iranian missiles had hit,” Noy said. “They were given a lot of space to talk and explain the impact, but as soon as they started to criticise the war, they were shut down, quite rudely.”
A complaint filed against Channel 14, a popular Israeli TV network, cited 265 quotes from hosts that encouraged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including phrases like “it really needs to be total annihilation” and “there are no innocents”.
Noy believes the Israeli media justifies every war, telling people it’s essential for their existence. “The world has allowed Israel to act as some kind of crazy bully to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants,” Noy added. “They can send their troops into Syria and Lebanon, never mind Gaza, with impunity.”
While much of the Israeli media supports the government’s actions, exceptions exist. Outlets like Local Call and +972 Magazine have conducted in-depth investigations into Israel’s actions, uncovering scandals that were later reported by international media.
These include reports on the Israeli military’s use of an AI system to generate bombing target lists based on predicted civilian casualties and the false declaration of Gaza neighborhoods as evacuated, leading to the bombing of civilian homes.
Dina Matar, professor of political communication and Arab media at SOAS University of London, noted that Israeli media often uses emotive language to describe strikes on Israeli hospitals while downplaying similar attacks on hospitals in Gaza. Netanyahu’s representation of Israel as a “subjugated people” reinforces a narrative that doesn’t allow for other perspectives, such as the Nakba or suffering in Gaza.