Several major news outlets erroneously reported a ground offensive was underway in Gaza, but well-placed commentators in Israel say it was an elaborate ruse to lure Hamas militants into a deadly trap.
Israeli Media Says Military Planted False Story About Gaza Invasion
But a military spokesman says it was an honest mistake
Rosemary Rossi | May 14, 2021 @ 7:47 PM
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The Israeli military retracted statements on Friday that its troops had entered the Gaza Strip, but Israeli news outlets reported the initial incorrect announcement was done to purposely deceive Hamas fighters.
Early Friday morning, the Israeli military issued an apocalyptic statement to the international media, saying that an Israeli ground invasion in the Gaza Strip was underway. “[Israel Defense Forces]’s air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip,” the tweet read.
This led a number of outlets - such as the
New York Times, the
Wall Street Journal, AFP and NPR - to report that Israeli soldiers have actually entered the Palestinian-controlled territory, from which Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had been launching rockets over the past week. Here s the
Washington Post, for example:
Two hours later, however, the IDF issued a clarification : there were no ground troops in Gaza, and never had been.
Officially, the confusion was due to internal miscommunication, IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus told reporters on Friday. These things can sometimes happen in the midst of a complex operation with many moving parts and with an unclear picture of what was happening, he said. As soon as I understood that I had the wrong information, I updated the relevant people with a clarification.