What do these images of refugees on the beaches of Gaza tell us? – Liberation

Since Wednesday April 17, various media personalities, political, far-right or supporters of Israel, have circulated a video which, according to them, contradicts the thesis of ongoing massacres in Gaza. These images – of Gazans at the beach – were first broadcast in Israel by the Israeli public channel N12then in France by the pro-Israeli relay (and former spokesperson for the Israeli army) Julien Bahloul. Come next Isabelle Balkanyformer first deputy of Levallois-Perret, convicted at first then at second instance for tax fraud, and essayist Rachel Khanwho tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) in comment: “I like the one who works (sic) his summer body by doing push-ups.”

The sequence in question is very real. It was shared by Gazan Osama Al-Kahlout in the early afternoon of April 17, as a story (ephemeral content) on his Instagram account. For a little less than forty seconds, a large crowd (hundreds of people) can be seen along the Gaza coast. Many children and young people are visible, some playing football, others with sand or in the water.

As several international media explained on Wednesday, Gazans took advantage of a brief military lull to go swimming. “Today was an opportunity for us to go to the sea. Because of the strong heat, the tent is like an oven, and the air is like fire,” tells AFP Mahmoud Al-Khatib, 28, who had to flee Gaza City, in the north, with his wife and children. The sea has also been used by some Gazan refugees since the start of the conflict to washing dishes or washingagainst a backdrop of a shortage of drinking water.

Refugee tents

CheckNews has precisely geolocated the sequence on the coast, near the town of Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza. Different pictures captured the same scene, with another shot. As shown in other videos authenticated by CheckNews (as this onefilmed a kilometer further northeast), as well as satellite images (taken more than two weeks ago, on April 3) transmitted by Planet, hundreds of refugee tents are in the area. Directly on the coast, or sometimes on the beaches.

The sequence mentioned above is far from being the only one to have filmed Gazans on the beaches of the enclave. Hassan Aslih, another Palestinian journalist, published several similar (ephemeral) videos, filmed on the same day. The sound of the waves is mixed with the cries of children having fun. In one of them, he questions a young boy coming out of the water: “How is the sea?” “Good”, replies the latter with a big smile. The photographer makes a joke about his light eyes which “would have turned blue” because of the water, before asking him why he came to the beach today. Visibly taken aback by the question, the boy responds simply “for swimming”.

These images of Gaza beaches, shared by various media in the Jewish state, were widely commented on in Israel. Some, like the commander of battalion 7 007 on Facebook or some hostage families demanding a firm response. Until the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who asked on Twitter the dissolution of the current war cabinet, noting that “thousands of people swim at the beach”, while Hezbollah threatens Israel in the North.

But these strips of sand, here joyful, have also been the scene of killings over the last six months. Several dozen people were shot dead at the start of the conflict in unclear circumstances along the coastal road, as evidenced by various authenticated sequences. More recently, on February 29, the “flour massacre” would have caused more than a hundred deaths, according to the Ministry of Health controlled by Hamas, when the Israeli forces, according to numerous corroborating testimonies gathered by CheckNews And different media like CNNopened fire on the crowd during a distribution of humanitarian aid, triggering a panic.