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Israeli media wakes up to Gaza destruction, criticism

With the war nearing its end, Israeli media features the destruction of Gaza, not only in numbers but in images, exposing the Israeli public to the suffering of the Palestinians and to harsh criticism voiced by European leaders.

A Palestinian boy rides in a car driving past residential buildings in Beit Lahiya town, which witnesses said was heavily hit by Israeli shelling and air strikes during the Israeli offensive, in the northern Gaza Strip August 7, 2014. Mediators worked against the clock on Thursday to extend a Gaza truce between Israel and the Palestinians as the three-day ceasefire went into its final 24 hours. Israel has said it is ready to agree to an extension as Egyptian mediators pursued talks with Israelis and Palesti
A Palestinian boy rides in a car driving past residential buildings in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip, Aug. 7, 2014. — REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

This war has been somewhat strange — a war whose conclusion is bearing little resemblance to its inception. The Israelis who followed the bloodstained battles in the Gaza Strip were forced to limit themselves to only one side of the conflict. The Israeli side, of course.

All the television stations displayed the same scenes, interviewed the same commanders in the field, showed the same anonymous soldiers telling the same war stories in detail and presented the viewers with identical battlefields. As if upon a coordinated signal, all the television stations were following the same old pre-arranged script.

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