Gaza Herald — Sensational revelations from a former soldier in the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) spokesperson’s unit have exposed the internal mechanics of Israel’s state propaganda machine, revealing how military statements are systematically fabricated, tailored, and manipulated to justify war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
In a detailed public testimony highlighted by Palestinian security monitors, former soldier Ayelet Kreuzer revealed that military press releases issued during the ongoing assault on Gaza were crafted not to inform the public, but to serve explicit psychological warfare and public relations objectives. Kreuzer admitted to personally altering news details, routinely labeling innocent Palestinian civilians as “terrorists” without distinction, and inserting standardized expressions of regret following mass casualty airstrikes as part of a daily administrative routine.
Kreuzer, who recently joined the Israeli veteran organization Breaking the Silence after completing her military service, confirmed that the Israeli occupation army tailors its narrative based on the intended audience to maximize propaganda impact. Messaging targeted at the Israeli domestic public is engineered to rebuild trust in the military establishment and maintain home-front morale. Conversely, media output directed at international audiences and foreign news outlets is designed to generate diplomatic cover, sanitize large-scale civilian massacres, and construct legal pretexts for ongoing military operations across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Manufacturing Regret and Systematic Labeling of Civilian Victims
According to the testimony, the Israeli occupation military spokesperson’s unit operates as a specialized public relations firm rather than a factual information service, treating battlefield data as malleable PR assets. Kreuzer disclosed that she was specifically trained to draft press releases following airstrikes that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, embedding prefabricated clauses stating that the army “regrets harm to uninvolved civilians” to mitigate international outrage while continuing offensive operations.
This routine whitewashing allowed the occupation military to maintain a facade of compliance with international humanitarian law while continuing high-yield bombardment in heavily populated urban areas.
The former soldier’s testimony lays bare how the IOF spokesperson’s unit functions as a deliberate psychological operation, systematically tailoring its output based on the targeted audience.
When addressing the domestic Israeli public, military communications are engineered to rebuild institutional trust, boost morale, and maintain support for ongoing military operations. Conversely, when messaging foreign press and global media outlets, the unit shifts to manufacturing legal cover, constructing superficial compliance with international law, and establishing diplomatic legitimacy for severe bombardment in civilian areas.
Most egregiously, routine casualty reporting follows a pre-scripted formula where innocent Palestinian civilians are indiscriminately labeled as “terrorists” to sanitize mass casualties, while prefabricated statements of regret are attached to airstrikes to deflect international outrage and evade legal accountability.
The testimony further confirmed the indiscriminate application of the term “terrorist” to Palestinian victims of Israeli fire, ensuring that civilian casualties reported by local health authorities were retroactively framed as legitimate targets in global headlines. Media analysts and human rights groups emphasize that these disclosures confirm long-standing warnings that Israeli occupation army announcements cannot be treated as neutral or verified sources of information. Instead, military press releases function as active instruments of war designed to shape public perception, manipulate mainstream news coverage, and shield political and military leaders from international legal accountability.
Institutional Propaganda Demands Independent International Verification
The exposure of internal military media manipulation comes amid broader international scrutiny of Israel’s military communications strategy throughout the Gaza campaign. Human rights organizations stress that major international news agencies must exercise rigorous independent verification rather than blindly echoing unverified Israeli occupation claims, particularly concerning civilian casualties, targeted assassinations, and hospital blockades.
By revealing how routine casualty announcements are manufactured to obscure state violence, Kreuzer’s testimony highlights the comprehensive breakdown of institutional transparency within the Israeli military apparatus. Human rights monitors reiterate that the systematic weaponization of media narratives forms an integral component of the ongoing war on Gaza, reinforcing the urgent necessity for independent investigative journalism and international legal oversight to document Israeli war crimes without military censorship.
