The War on Truth against Israel (Part 3) 

Massacre and deliberate killings?

Much of the world has uncritically accepted the findings of a recent United Nations commission of inquiry claiming that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. A much less publicised report, ‘Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Re-examination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7, 2023 to June 1, 2025’, paints a somewhat differing picture.

Compiled by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (B-SCSS), Prophecy Today considered it appropriate to provide a summary of the main contents of this in-depth and academic study. Part One debunked the ‘Mass Starvation’ allegations. Part Two laid bare the complexities and dangers of fighting in an urban environment. 

The present article focuses on claims of massacre and deliberate killing, which claims have been central to the accusations of genocide against Israel. 

For their analysis, the authors examine in detail the vast database of testimonies compiled by historian Lee Mordechai, as well as considering testimonies from doctors from the Palestinian American Medical Association, who claim that Israeli snipers carried out widespread killings of children. The authors make the presumption that some war crimes happen in all wars – what they are looking for is any evidence that this is a pattern that means that they are widespread and intentional. 

Various genuine serious incidences of civilian killing

Whilst looking at the incidences, several cases have been highlighted as needing investigation, as criminal charges may well be appropriate.  The report considers that the cases of the family of Hind Rajab, killed whilst evacuating in a car, and the deaths of their rescue team, should be investigated fully – as at the minimum, questions about the IDF’s capability and identification procedures and measures to protect civilians must be addressed, and it may be, indeed, that the perpetrators may need to face criminal charges.  A group of five Palestinian men holding a white flag were shot without warning when approaching an IDF unit to demand the release of a relative. In addition, it appears that an old, deaf man was shot during a building clearance, as the man was trying to crawl under a bed for safety.

Other serious incidents are also considered. The officer who authorised the killing of seven employees of the World Central Kitchen has already been dismissed by the IDF – the report’s authors consider that it may however have been an error, possibly caused by the fact that some passengers in the convoy were armed.

A subsequent serious incident took place in which 12 medical workers were killed when the IDF opened fire on ambulances – Israeli investigations concluded serious professional misconduct, and the officer who led the ambush was dismissed. The report says that, in this case, “even the most lenient interpretation of the situation indicates neglect of orders, negligence, reckless shooting, low professionalism, and lies told during the investigation. In the worst case, these are suspicions of war crimes warranting criminal investigation.”

Nonetheless, the report clearly points out that this incident “does not constitute a deliberate, close-range massacre. Contrary to initial claims, the IDF did not try to hide the bodies from international organizations but shared their locations, and it was combat activity—not a premeditated plan—that caused the delay in revealing the bodies. Survivors from the incidents were released, not killed, even though they were likely to testify in a way that undermined the soldiers’ version.” The investigation outlines a “chain of errors, each reinforcing a false perception among the ambush team that they were targeting Hamas members.”

[This number is]...very far from any possible scenario in which massacre or genocide could be legitimately considered.

A few further wrongful killings of several other Palestinian citizens are considered, and the report essentially considers the evidence for those wrongfully killed (and possibly criminally so) as being in the dozens – too many, as each individual killing is a tragedy for those concerned, but very far from any possible scenario in which massacre or genocide could be legitimately considered. Further testimonies highlighted in Lee Mordechai’s compilation are considered to have little evidence to justify any deliberate killings, and others where it appears that there may have been good military justification. 

Nonetheless, concerns are expressed about the possible misuse of detainees for military purposes. 

Evidence of false claims by ‘activist eyewitnesses’

Mordechai’s compilation contains a short paragraph in which he claims there were dozens of executions by IDF soldiers, and that hundreds of Palestinians were killed whilst waiting for food convoys. The B-SCSS report puts forward that these claims were not covered by established human rights organisations, as they lack any factual or forensic evidence – and it is asserted that the NGO that made the accusations, EuroMed Monitor, is, in fact, a Hamas-affiliated entity.

One seemingly damning account of Israeli war crimes has been made by American doctors who volunteered in Gaza with the Palestinian American Medical Association; they claim in their time there to have daily treated many (up to 99 per day) children injured by Israeli (sniper) fire, with single bullets to the head or chest. The report casts doubt not only on these claims, but the credibility of these “activist eyewitness[es]”. It compares the claims with robust studies of hospital treatments.

The report casts doubt not only on these claims, but the credibility of these “activist eyewitness[es]”.

A study by Abd Al-Karim Al-Salqawi and Richard Villar at Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, which supposedly served only civilians, found that 82% of trauma injuries resulted from explosions and collapse of structures. Only 8% involved gunshot wounds. Of 110 patients, only 23% were children, and only 3% of all injuries (gunshot and others) involved head wounds. 

A different study – of the very hospital where many of the PAMA doctors volunteered, and, significantly, at the same time – found that “of the 41 primary injuries recorded for surgical intervention, only 4-5 (10-12%) were children and only 1 of the 7 secondary cases (14%) were children. 70% of the cases were male. None of the surgical operations performed involved skull trauma.” 

Each of the instances of doctors claiming that the majority of the patients that they saw were children are contradicted by the Gaza Ministry of Health itself, which gives the numbers treated at one hospital, where one of these doctors worked, as treating 16% children, with the majority being adult males. 

The report concludes, regarding this matter, by stating that “even if all injured children from February to April were gunshot victims, and even if all gunshot injuries involved head or chest wounds, and even if all injuries were from a single bullet, and even if all were from sniper fire, and even if they were all treated by the PAMA-associated doctors, their claims would still be incompatible with possible reality. Given the relative rarity of gunshot injuries overall and head injuries in particular, based on the limited available data, these claims seem far-fetched—as any basic fact check would have revealed. Indeed, this would be absurd even if all children reported killed by the GMOH during the relevant timeframe (about 30% of the number injured) had also been brought to them for treatment.” 

Other unsubstantiated claims

The PAMA doctors claim that “not once did any of us see any type of Palestinian militant activity in any of Gaza’s hospitals or other healthcare facilities.” Yet shortly after this, a Yazidi captive woman forced to work in the Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital testified that she saw armed presence there daily. Separately, a Kurdish volunteer doctor also testified that Hamas used the hospitals as bases, including to hide its leaders. Some of the released hostages described being taken to Shifa Hospital after their kidnap, where they were “surrounded by their armed kidnappers, and by medical teams who cheered at the sight of their captivity.” 

...widespread, intentional killing of civilians is a delusion and a lie spread by activists and propaganda. 

A recurring claim by various groups is that armed drones with sniper rifles have caused many of the injuries and deaths of children. Whilst the report’s authors are unable to reach any conclusive verdicts on this, they could not find any supporting evidence that such drones even exist – Ukrainian forces have improvised by equipping observation drones with light weapons, but sniper rifles would require a stable platform, and no military (including the IDF) has a documented operational use of such drones. 

No evidence of intentional massacre 

Concluding this section of the B-SCSS report, the authors state that their research “indicates a deep problem in relying on unverified witness testimonies in urban warfare, such as the current Israel-Hamas War. The problem is even more acute when it involves a mobilized society, let alone self-selected activist groups—as shown in the case of the PAMA-associated doctors—or a population living under a regime that suppresses any information that contradicts its official narrative. However, this does not mean that testimonies of Palestinian victims regarding war crimes should be ignored, or that IDF claims should be accepted uncritically.” 

Having very carefully sifted through all available evidence, the authors have painted a very different picture from that which has proliferated through Western media. The reality appears to be one in which, in the heat of the moment, serious errors have been made, leading to tragic loss of life; one in which there appears to be isolated wrongdoing; but also one where widespread, intentional killing of civilians is a delusion and a lie spread by activists and propaganda. 


The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies report is written by the following scholars:
Prof. Danny Orbach is a military historian from the Department of History and Asian Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Jonathan Boxman is an independent scholar and an expert in quantitative analysis
Dr. Yagil Henkin is a military historian at Shalem College and the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security
Adv. Jonathan Braverman is a member of the Israeli bar and IHL lawyer