If only there was a profession dedicated to finding things out. Perhaps we could call them “journalists.” Maybe some of them could work for a company – let’s call it the Associated Press.

Perhaps, just maybe, if the AP had spent more time with their eyes open in Gaza and were honest about what was happening on the ground, they would have realized that they were SHARING A BUILDING WITH HAMAS.

Well, the AP, along with some other press organizations, found out the hard way when the building that they were using was leveled by the Israelis. It was a precision strike, and everyone who was in the building was told to get out first, because that is how the IDF does things, in order to keep civilian casualties down. Hamas does not extend that same courtesy.

This Palestinian photographer in Gaza has complete confidence in the trustworthiness of the Israeli Air Force, which announced its target in advance, allowing the building to be evacuated. He, whose life depends on it, trusts Israel’s statements more than does the Western media. pic.twitter.com/oXiv9sxtvO

— Mike (@Doranimated) May 14, 2021

Now, the IDF has had a lot of success over the last two days. The really amazing story was the complete fakeout that the media unwittingly assisted in, by announcing that the IDF would be starting a ground invasion in Gaza.

At midnight, the IDF Spokesperson’s English department tweeted, “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.”

Foreign media jumped at the tweet, interpreting it to mean that Israel was sending ground forces into Gaza, a major escalation in the current operation and a sign that it was far from over.
Websites of media outlets around the world, including The Washington Post and ABC, reported the incursion. “Israeli troops have entered the Gaza Strip as conflict with Palestinians escalates, Israeli military says,” was the tweet put out by The Washington Post.”

The problem was that there was no ground invasion. Yes, the IDF had deployed troops along the border, but they did not cross into Gaza. What did happen was in the air, where 160 aircraft had assembled for a massive bombing run over the Gaza Strip. Their target was what the IDF called Hamas’s “Metro”, an underground network of tunnels which Hamas used to store its weapons and to move throughout Gaza, hidden from Israeli aircraft.”

According to reports, due to the deployment along the border and the news coming out in the foreign media of a ground incursion, Hamas and Islamic Jihad sent their first-line of defense into the tunnels to start taking up positions. These were the anti-tank missile teams and mortar squads meant to strike at incoming Israeli ground forces.”

What these Hamas operatives did not know was that there was no ground offensive. Instead, once they were out of the tunnels, they were exposed to Israeli aircraft. Within minutes, the “Metro” attack went ahead. This led to speculation that the tweet about the ground incursion was intentional and made to get Hamas to believe it was safe to enter the tunnels.”

That is one of the most amazing tactical stories I have ever heard of. It was a complete fakeout that got Hamas and Islamic Jihad to expose themselves, and then the IDF blew them away when they were all in one place. And the media helped broadcast it through the power of Twitter, and got unknown numbers of terrorists killed. I don’t have enough superlatives to describe the sheer genius that is displayed in this story.

And then the IDF took down the building that housed the offices of the AP because Hamas was using that same space as intelligence headquarters, they say. And they were using the media as their human shields.

After providing advance warning to civilians & time to evacuate, IDF fighter jets struck a multi-story building containing Hamas military intelligence assets.

The building contained civilian media offices, which Hamas hides behind and deliberately uses as human shields. pic.twitter.com/zeDjEquePD

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 15, 2021

Now, does it BOTHER the AP that they were literally being used as human shields for a terror organization like Hamas? Judging by their reaction, apparently not. The AP President and CEO, Gary Pruitt, released a statement (and video) that needs to be picked apart.

We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza. They have long known the location of our bureau and knew journalists were there. We received a warning that the building would be hit.”

The Israeli government says the building contained Hamas military intelligence assets. We have called on the Israeli government to put forward the evidence. 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. This is something we actively check to the best of our ability. We would never knowingly put our journalists at risk.”

This strike is an incredibly disturbing development. We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life. A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were inside the building and thankfully we were able to evacuate them in time.”

The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what transpired today.”

What the actual hell. The AP is shocked, SHOCKED that the IDF would DARE destroy their building. They’ve been there for 15 years and had NO IDEA that Hamas was in the building! The jokes write themselves, and so do the observations that, you know, MAYBE you guys all suck at your ONE job.

These people can find a grandma posting memes in a Facebook group or someone who makes a gif on Reddit but genocidal terror organization working two floors down? Nope! No idea. https://t.co/7GaEC8UsDL

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 15, 2021

And of course, the whining by the AP is extreme in their statement and by individual journalists. It’s all Israel’s fault that the AP *checks notes* managed to evacuate all their people from the building before it was leveled, and all because they are incompetent fools who don’t mind that Hamas painted a target on their building by using it for intelligence purposes and them as human shields.

And because there is nothing more that the press loves than a story about itself, the tale of the empty building that the IDF leveled, where the AP and Hamas shared office space, is spread all over the media. Way to advertise your supreme idiocy, AP! Congratulations on letting your employees be used to protect terrorists. I’m pretty certain that if you were being targeted by anyone BUT Israel, there would not have been that advance warning.

And why would the world now know less about what is happening in Gaza? Are your journalists not staying, now that their human shield agreement is over, AP? I’m sure you can find other offices if you want to stay in Gaza. Or did you have a quiet deal with Hamas in order to make sure that you could stay in that building? Something smells here, and anyone out there works for the AP, do you feel confident that the organization would “never knowingly put” you at risk? Seems that either through blissful ignorance or through feigned ignorance, the AP has done just that.

Featured image via Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license