The guys a portion of the world wants you to think are the good guys have just released video of themselves rigging up improvised explosive devices to children's toys inside of a school. Their objective here isn't to kill Israeli Soldiers though, it's to convince the IDF to destroy a school so that they can further their public relations campaign and continue to paint themselves as the victims.

Here's the thing with Hamas and the PIJ. They know that there is no world where they can defeat the Israeli Defense Force out in the field of battle. The IDF isn't waging a typical counter-insurgency war against them like they had hoped. Instead, they're destroying every ounce of resistance across the entire Gaza Strip, making the conventional human shield tactics they usually use less effective.

Where they're winning however is in the public relations war. Hamas and the PIJ are not morons. They have access to the internet, and can see very well what is going on all around the world. Both groups, who are at this point working in tandem with one another, know that Israel cannot maintain support for their war against them in Gaza, especially if certain bad faith actors continue to publish out of context footage from the on-going conflict.

So, what does any insurgency do when they know they're on the backfoot? They appeal to human emotion and pain themselves as the victim. As I said in the opening paragraph. The objective of this video and these explosives isn't to kill Israeli Soldiers. The explosive may kill or injure one IDF Soldier before they're spotted and a landslide is called inside of the building causing a complete evacuation of Israeli Forces, but that's not a win for the extremist side of the conflict.

No, the win comes after. When the IDF drops a bomb on the building or conducts a controlled detonation of what is likely a kindergarten or school, that's where the blow is dealt. That footage is released to an international public that already hates the Israeli Defense Force, and is calling for not only sanctions, but the open arrest of the Israeli Prime Minister. The attempt here isn't to defeat the IDF, it's to put the Nation of Israel to heel so that they can get the breathing room they need to regroup.

Every time you see a video like this, you need to think about the real objective. Hamas and the PIJ want to eventually defeat the entirety of Israel. Killing one Israeli Soldier in a building does not help them meet that objective. Causing Israel to destroy a Kindergarten or a School, or a Hospital however does. It makes the IDF untouchables to the International Community and weakens them on the world stage in the eyes of many who are already choosing to not only not support them, but actively work against them.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com