In the 24 hours that have passed since the tower was knocked down, no Hamas members have yet to pull any members of the media to the side and offer up the obvious whispers. The IDF was right about the building containing terrorist intelligence. They should be ready to admit that by now, shouldn’t they?
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli military sources have already relayed the information to the United States. This probably explains why the White House was not looking to condemn the tower attack. Biden may have had advance notice that the IDF was actually being truthful about their motivations.
Here’s more from the Jerusalem Post:
“Israel shared intelligence with the US showing how Hamas operated inside the same building with the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera in Gaza, officials in Jerusalem said on Sunday.
In my two essays from 2014, I gave multiple examples of the way news organizations like the AP had been compromised by Hamas in Gaza. Contrary to what I’ve seen attributed to me today, I didn’t write that Hamas operated out of the same building, and don’t know if that’s true.
— Matti Friedman (@MattiFriedman) May 16, 2021
Officials in more than one government office confirmed that US President Joe Biden’s phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday was, in part, about the bombing of the building, and that Israel showed Biden and American officials the intelligence behind the action.
“We showed them the smoking gun proving Hamas worked out of that building,” a senior diplomatic source said. “I understand they found the explanation satisfactory,” the Post reports.
The army legal advisers who approve these strikes were convinced that the intel and the military logic could be defended, meaning they saw proof. And because hitting press offices is a net negative for Israel, the army seems to have had a target it considered worth the fallout.
— Matti Friedman (@MattiFriedman) May 16, 2021
The Associated Press’ offices were destroyed in the missile strike as well. For their part, they are claiming that they are totally unaware of any Hamas presence. “AP’s bureau has been in this building for 15 years. We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building,” the agency said. “This is something we actively check to the best of our ability. We would never knowingly put our journalists at risk,” their statement reads.
However, some observers with longer memories are making sure that people remember an Atlantic piece that was released in 2014. The author was former AP reporter Matti Friedman and it paints a far more interesting picture than the AP’s canned statement does:
“When Hamas’s leaders surveyed their assets before this summer’s round of fighting, they knew that among those assets was the international press. The AP staff in Gaza City would witness a rocket launch right beside their office, endangering reporters and other civilians nearby—and the AP wouldn’t report it, not even in AP articles about Israeli claims that Hamas was launching rockets from residential areas. (This happened.) Hamas fighters would burst into the AP’s Gaza bureau and threaten the staff—and the AP wouldn’t report it. (This also happened.)
Former Obama White House Spokesman on Hamas-AP connection 👀👀
“I’m sure Hamas offices were in that building … I talked to people who worked in the building” pic.twitter.com/kfQlOlSXb3
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) May 16, 2021
Cameramen waiting outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City would film the arrival of civilian casualties and then, at a signal from an official, turn off their cameras when wounded and dead fighters came in, helping Hamas maintain the illusion that only civilians were dying. (This too happened; the information comes from multiple sources with firsthand knowledge of these incidents.)”
Friedman’s sources have alerted him to Hamas presence in the tower. Even a former Obama administration member is backing up this story. “I’m sure Hamas offices were in that building … I talked to people who worked in the building,” says Tommy Vietor. Vietor has absolutely no partisan interest here and has nothing to gain from lying.
US military field-grade officer tells me the tower IDF struck in Gaza housed an underground Hamas Tactical Operations Center (TOC). Tenants were not allowed below a certain floor, which contained guards in tailored suits watching stairs and elevators. Bldg owner knew.
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 15, 2021
The professional news agency that is responsible for reporting these things is claiming that they know nothing but multiple people with no reason to make this up say they have it on good authority. “US military field-grade officer tells me the tower IDF struck in Gaza housed an underground Hamas Tactical Operations Center (TOC). Tenants were not allowed below a certain floor, which contained guards in tailored suits watching stairs and elevators. Bldg owner knew,” Jack Posobiec adds.
Be sure to stay tuned, as we are sure that Israeli intelligence will have much to say about this attack in the days to come. The underground facility angle makes more sense than anything and could have provided the AP with the plausible deniability they needed. Only time will tell if these accounts are correct!
