A U.N. relief worker alleged by Israel to have participated in the Oct. 7 attacks was captured on video that day removing the limp body of an Israeli man who had been shot at Kibbutz Beeri and driving off with it, according to information released Friday by Israeli authorities.

Israel told the United Nations Relief and Works Agency last month that Faisal Ali Musalam Naami, 45, and 11 other UNRWA employees participated in or lent support to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel that precipitated Israel’s war in the besieged Palestinian territory. Israeli authorities have said Hamas and allied gunmen killed 1,200 Israelis and took some 253 people hostage back in Gaza.

  • AndyEnglish
    26•9 months ago

    This feels Kafkaesque.

    For every news article, I think we should ask: what is the point? What lessons are we learning, and how do we respond?

    If this information is true – which is a big if, considering the outlandish fabrications and misinformation the IDF has propagated – then this person should be held accountable.

    This person, and accomplices.

    This does not justify the upcoming liquidataion of Raffah. This does not justify dismantling UNRWA. It doesn’t legitimate starvation and famine under a classic medieval siege. A genocide is taking place, and we’re taking about the alleged misdeeds of actors who are not ultimately significant to the arc of these historic, world events.

    And every week there are crucial events: of civilians killed, Palestinians outside Gaza getting detailed indefinitely without charges. Connection camps being built in the desert. Settlers pogroms, civil interest within Israel… Why are the alleged actions of this person four months ago THE story that seems most in need of telling right now? Why? Does this give us more context in what is happening? Or is this another in a series of distraction constantly lobbed to draw focus from obviously more salient events?

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      -7•9 months ago

      A complex geopolitical event deserves nuanced coverage. Ignoring wrongdoings out of fear it will distract from a greater evil will only blind you to reality.

      When we ask the IDF for evidence, it’s important we actually look at it when they give it.

      • livus
        8•9 months ago

        It’s hard to ignore that the “evidence” they give is so often noncredible.

        They lost me way back at “Palestinian” nurse who couldn’t pronounce Arabic and turned out to be a Mexican-Israeli.

        The really tone-deaf part of that for me was the actress was saying how appalling it was setting a child’s fracture without painkillers due to Hamas. By contrast, real medical staff who were actually there were talking to reputable news outlets about performing multiple amputations on children without anaesthetic due to the IDF blockade.

        • @[email protected]OPEnglish
          -3•9 months ago

          I hear what you are saying. If I remember correctly that “nurse” video was released on social media via accounts that were largely pro-Israeli settlers, but not through official means. It was absolutely a fake video spread for disinformation purposes.

          While it’s certainly plausible the IDF filmed and released it themselves, that is not proven by any stretch of the imagination. Official channels are different, and should still be given skepticism.

          • livus
            1•9 months ago

            @DolphinMath good point, I think you’re right that it wasn’t proven to be associated with them, so it’s a bad example and a little unfair of me to have lost all patience with the IDF at that point specifically.

            They have produced so much garbage “evidence” since though, through IDF spokesmen, video and press releases, that I’d still take anything they release with a grain of salt at this point.

            • @[email protected]OPEnglish
              -1•9 months ago

              Totally fair points.

              I’d also like to acknowledge that we have a finite amount of attention, and sifting through every possible bit of information isn’t really feasible. Creating noise/muddying the waters is a very efficient tool for disinformation. I think that’s only going to become easier with future LLMs.

              Personally, I tend to value trusted news sources for that reason. Even those can give you blind spots though.

              • livus
                0•9 months ago

                @DolphinMath definitely, I agree with you on all those points. I have a definite hierarchy of news sources - and also of underlying sources of the information on which they report.

                I do read a pretty wide variety of news though - my community worldwithoutus is a fact-checker’s nightmare!