Before Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker on April 30, 1945, he wrote a will declaring Nazi information minister Joseph Goebbels his successor as chancellor of Germany.
Goebbels served only one day in that post before committing suicide himself. But Hitler’s message in empowering his propaganda chief was delivered to the world and lives on: Psychological warfare is a critical component to victory in war.
Fast forward 80 years to the IDF’s successful Gaza City strike on Sunday that eliminated Hamas information war commander Hudhafya Samir Al-Kahlout, known around the world as Abu Obeida.
With all due respect to the assassinations of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif, it may eventually be seen in retrospect that Abu Obeida’s elimination was even more critical in this war.
It is unlikely, but it could also potentially be the long-awaited turning point allowing Israel’s longest war to finally end successfully.
But only if the heads of top international media outlets realize that they have now been set free from the spell that this cunning man had put them under since October 7, 2023, and over the past two decades since his 2006 announcement of the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.
Media downplays Abu Obeida's key role behind October 7
Foreign press coverage of Abu Obeida’s assassination downplayed him as a mere Hamas spokesman. They know he was so much more than that.
Abu Obeida was the icon of Hamas and the entire international effort to destroy the State of Israel. His speeches were treated like direct instructions to the Gazan masses. Brainwashed children throughout the Middle East idolized him. And the international media parroted his every word as if it were as gospel from Jesus.
“It is ironic that he was the face of Hamas, but his face was always covered,” said I24’s Ariel Oseran, the most impressive Arab affairs analyst in Israeli English-language media. “Israel took out the leader of Hamas in the propaganda arena. The impact may not be immediate, but it is key long term. Hamas knew they couldn’t destroy Israel immediately. They started a war to delegitimize Israel so that 10 to 15 years from now, they could attack again when Israel will be all alone.”
Army radio revealed on Tuesday that Abu Obeida employed 1,500 terrorist propagandists who served in every Hamas battalion and brigade, outfitting them with GoPro cameras, camera protection kits and batteries, and a team of video editors to cut propaganda videos. He crafted every hostage video and release ceremony to maximize their impact.
Two days after the war began, Abu Obeida chillingly declared: “We will execute an enemy civilian hostage for every attack… and broadcast the footage.”
That intense psychological warfare has rattled Israelis throughout this war and made every step the IDF has taken in Gaza more sensitive. Abu Obeida knew how to pull at the heartstrings of every Israeli, and his success with false international propaganda campaigns has been formidable.
“He was the head of the propaganda machine that originates in Arabic, and English comes from there,” Oseran said. “Israel hopes his death will disrupt. Removing a commander takes away important know-how. Strategic thinking is no longer there.”
Any hope that Abu Obeida’s departure would instantly impact the media battlefield was tempered the following day, when media outlets throughout the world carried out his legacy by participating in a coordinated propaganda campaign falsely accusing Israel of deliberately targeting Gazan journalists. They used the same messaging, timing, templates, and hashtags to demonize Israel.
Top media outlets fall for psychological warfare
Reporters Without Borders claimed that more than 200 participating media outlets, which included National Public Radio, The Independent, The New York Times, and The Guardian, amplified its message with editorials, and a CNN report gave the campaign the publicity it sought.
Such reports did not distinguish between reporters and propagandists for Hamas. They did not point out the plight of Gazan journalists who know Hamas will kill them and their families if they challenge the terrorist organization’s narrative.
The campaign mentioned the death of Al Jazeera “journalist” Anas Al-Sharif in an Israeli strike last month, omitting hard evidence presented by the IDF proving that he was a commander of a terrorist cell in a Hamas rocket-launching platoon.
Top media outlets fell for the psychological warfare and emotional manipulation of Abu Obeida, who was sanctioned by the Biden administration in April 2024.
What they should have reported that same day was the frightening antisemitic and anti-American rhetoric from the speakers at the underreported People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit. Stu Smith of the Manhattan Institute revealed what leading anti-Israel activists say when they think no one is looking.
“Every single one in Gaza is a resistance fighter in their own way,” journalist Abu Bakr Abed said, inadvertently implicating all two million residents of the Gaza Strip. Abed, who received an award from Iranian Press TV, admitted that The Guardian and other Western media outlets told him they would employ him if he would erase inflammatory social media posts that would be seen by media watchdogs like HonestReporting.
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker encouraged the crowd to “find that anger in your heart” to continue challenging Israel. Speaker Nidal Jboor called for the crowd to “neutralize” leaders in Israel, the US, and Europe.
Hamas was cheered at the event, while America was booed. Jewish Voices for Peace’s Jemma Pasch explained her organization’s plan to destroy the Israeli economy.
Well-known antisemites praised instead of condemned
The conference was also addressed by journalist Mosab Abu Toha, who is set to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary at a ceremony at Columbia University next month.
Since his prize was announced, Abu Toha has been attacking mainstream media, accusing AP and Reuters of being complicit in Israeli war crimes.
“F*** you, BBC,” he posted on X when an interviewer dared point out the Israeli side. “Who gives a f*** what Israel says?”
When The New York Times published a piece by an Israeli author, he posted “What the f***ing s**t, nyt!?!?!?!”
Former US poet laureate and current Northwestern University Prof. Natasha Trethewey is one of the most esteemed members of the prize committee. Professor Trethewey, do you feel comfortable with this being the language of a Pulitzer winner?
Abu Obeida was not the only propagandist Israel recently eliminated. Last Thursday, Houthi information minister Hashem Sharaf al-Din was among the leaders of the Yemeni terrorist organization killed in a targeted IDF airstrike.
His death was mourned by his colleagues at the World Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting – and by anti-Israel journalists Mehdi Hasan.
“Israel apparently can wipe out entire governments of Middle Eastern countries,” Hasan posted on X, before being corrected that Yemen actually has a real government that considers the Houthis terrorists.
In some ways, Abu Obeida and Sharaf al-Din succeeded in tricking the international media about the Jews even more than Goebbels could have dreamed of. Now that they are no longer with us, it is time for the press to take leave of their trance and report more accurately about Israel and the current war. ■
The writer is the executive director of the pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting. He served as chief political correspondent and analyst of The Jerusalem Post for 24 years.