The American channel refers to videos in which Hamas fighters are seen engaging in military training for attacks on what are presumably supposed to be Israeli targets. One of the videos is from December 2022. In the training area, Hamas soldiers are seen firing rockets, taking hostages and surrounding buildings. news has not verified the content, but AP News also writes about the propaganda videos. The news agency writes that less than a month before the attack on Israel, there must have been open military training. They refer to it as a “dress rehearsal” for the bloody attack. Here, too, a propaganda video has been published on social media by Hamas. Not far from the border According to CNN, the military training camp from 2022 was not far from the Erez Crossing, the border crossing that Hamas took over and which ended in a brutal attack on civilian targets in Israel. Hamas moved into Israel and took over 20 populated places. There they were in control for many hours before the Israeli army was in a position to strike back. Another video, taken more than a year ago, shows Hamas fighters practicing landing and attacking with paragliders. An attack method that Hamas also used on 7 October. CNN has reviewed a number of Hamas training and propaganda videos from the past two years. They have found that the group has been training for the attack in at least six locations across Gaza. According to CNN, two of these locations, including the video from 2022, are only one kilometer from the most heavily patrolled part of the Gaza-Israel border. This is how news covers the conflict in the Middle East Presence: news currently has two teams working in Israel and in the occupied West Bank. The teams consist of a journalist, a photographer and local employees. That presence is very important to get in touch with sources and get first-hand impressions after the very brutal attacks on civilians in Israel. Gaza: We are not in Gaza now. It is practically impossible because the border is closed and the usual border crossings were destroyed in the hostilities over the weekend. In any case, it is a demanding security situation that must be included in the assessment if the opportunity arises. We are therefore talking to sources inside Gaza and also have a local team that takes video and pictures for us. Balance: Our task is to bring out what is happening, not take a position in the conflict. We cover the war between Israel and Hamas as we cover other wars. This means that we are working to bring out different perspectives, sources and views on what is happening so that we in Norway can best understand the conflict. We must be open and accountable in our journalism, and correct when we make mistakes. We have a special task to describe and illuminate the consequences of warfare for civilians and individuals on both sides of the conflict. Concepts: We relate to the concepts of international international law in this conflict. This means, for example, that the West Bank is occupied and that the targeted killing of civilians is a war crime. Verification: There will be many images, information and videos via social media. Our job is to check this as best as possible before we publish. Much of what is talked about and shared on social media is not true. We must be as sure as we can that what we say and publish is correct. We use the time necessary for quality control before we possibly publish. Responsibility: As a public broadcaster, we have a special responsibility to cover developments in the world. That is why we prioritize presence through correspondents and photographers in the field, also in the current conflict. We are usually staffed by two permanent correspondents in the region. They have their permanent base in Beirut and Istanbul. Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen, foreign editor – Although not to the extent CNN has also gone through a number of satellite images, taken over a two-year period. They show no signs of any Israeli military action against any of these locations, according to the channel. Many have asked themselves the question of how Israel, which has among the world’s best intelligence, has not managed to catch the planning of such a military operation. A source in the Egyptian intelligence apparatus has also claimed that they were trying to warn Israel that “something big” was brewing. Professor at the Staff School, Tormod Heier, believes that Israel’s intelligence has not understood the extent of this military training for Hamas. – Hamas could do this because it (Israel) did not have agents and infiltrators inside Hamas’ leadership. They did not understand the scope and intention behind this training, he says. – Israel certainly has some, but not many enough. And then people have started to rely more on sensors that are based on technology. It helps a little, but it doesn’t help enough, he says. Professor at the Staff School, Tormod Heier. Photo: Håvard Madsbakken / Håvard Madsbakken – Political agenda Heier further emphasizes that all broadcasts and videos from an organization such as Hamas have an underlying political message. – The information that is out there is of course coloured, and it has a negative side. This applies in any crisis or war, he says of the propaganda videos – It is about fighting for support and has a clear political agenda. International spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, tells CNN that the findings are “no news.” He adds that Hamas has had many training areas and that Israel’s military has hit several of these in recent years. Conricus also says that Hamas may have camouflaged these facilities by making them “look civilian”.
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