The media war over Gaza continues. Return to this post throughout the day for updates.
6:38 p.m. Send a Soldier a Smile. And see this appreciation from the IDF after we delivered the first 5,000 messages.
5:56 p.m. Just found out Bibi's updating US bloggers on the war in a conference call today at noon EDT.
To access the call, dial (866) 214-7905. Participants joining from outside the U.S. should dial (973) 935-8580. The Conference ID is 80434752. Hat tip: Michael Eisenberg.
5:52 p.m. Israeli Bedouin rescue workers risk their lives under rocket fire. Via Rachel Neiman.
5:34 p.m. Reporter N.J. Burkett of New York's Channel 7 News visits Palestinians hospitalized in Egypt.
You can't help be moved by the suffering, but nothing in Burkett's report indicates that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. It's a great example of Hamas's CNN Strategy playing out.
5:12 p.m. IDF field hospital for Palestinians in the works?
5:03 p.m. After reading this commentary in The Age, I have to wonder what it is about the Hamas charter and "philosophy" — if anything — that really bothers Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Hamas' charter and its philosophy may well trouble us, but the right of every people to take up arms against occupation is enshrined in international law.
If anything really bothered her, it would manifest itself with a little understanding (and not sympathy) of why Israel's fighting in Gaza now.
3:54 p.m. Michael Ramirez on Hamas:
3:41 p.m. Olsen & Olsen seem to assume Hamas is just a political party and that the people of Gaza who voted for it weren't aware that the Islamists refuse to accept Israel's existence, renounce violence, or accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
3:31 p.m. If only this pithy observation by Allan Richarz could the last word on proportionate response:
A militarily superior force should not limit itself because of the international community's desire to root for the underdog.
3:25 p.m. Since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, 35 non-governmental organizations have issued 175 statements against the fighting. NGO-Monitor looks at the results of their broken quills and spilled ink.
3:18 p.m. Besides hiding underneath Shifa Hospital, Hamas leaders and gunmen are also hiding in foreign missions and ambulances.
11:09 a.m. Is the MSM going to be flooded with Al-Jazeera footage? The NY Times says the network, which bills itself as only international broadcaster with a presence in Gaza, is going for broke to reach US audiences:
Al Jazeera planned to announce this week that all its video material of the war in Gaza would become available under the most lenient Creative Commons license, which basically means it can be used by anyone — rival broadcaster, documentary maker or individual blogger, for example — as long as Al Jazeera is credited.
Last year, AP fees for quoting stories on blogs rankled the blogosphere. But for Al-Jazeera, this isn't about money. What will this mean for Israel?
10:32 a.m. Professor Richard Landes flags another example of Pallywood dynamics in action.
The dynamic is this: Boy posts video online, misrepresents it, and the video goes viral among Arab viewers. Sharp-eyed bloggers spot the misrepresentation, boy admits error, but keeps video online. France 2 TV (wouldn't ya know?) picks up on video, giving it new legitimacy, then apologizes.
Landes did a thorough job of putting all the pieces together in context, so read it all there. This is another case of false info remaining online long enough to return and cause damage. Another example of this phenomenon is when Robert Fisk accused Israel of using uranium weapons in Lebanon.
Even though UN and Lebanese officials confirmed that no radioactive weapons were used, The Independent never retracted the story, allowing people to post comments even today. The internet gives material a life all it’s own, separate from the reality.
9:19 a.m. Nice tips from Mashable for following Gaza developments in the traditional and social media. Via Journalism News.
9:04 a.m. Joe the Plumber makes his journalism debut in Sderot, followed by a gaggle of reporters — who he tells off for botching coverage of the war.
8:46 a.m. Hamas boobytrapped a school and a zoo.
8:43 a.m. The ultimate human shields: Hamas leaders are hiding in a bunker under Shifa Hospital, refurbished by Israel. Haaretz writes:
The Israeli civil administration in the territories constructed the hospital complex's Building Number 2, which has a large cement basement that housed the hospital's laundry and various administrative services.
During a cabinet meeting a week ago, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin said senior Hamas officials found refuge in the hospital basement because they know Israel would not target it, due to the patients in the upper floors. Palestinian sources told Haaretz that not all the senior Hamas leaders are hiding in one place.
