Israel's assault on Gaza: The bizarre, uncomfortable live-tweets from Israel's military

Israel launches a major offensive against Palestinian militants — and for some reason, broadcasts the attacks live via social media

Palestinian men react at a hospital in Gaza city after the body of Ahmed Jabari, head of the Hamas military wing, was brought in on Nov. 14.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

On Wednesday, after months of tension between Israel and Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces launched a major offensive in the Gaza Strip. But instead of holding a press conference to spread the news, the Israeli forces took to social media, making this the world's first military campaign to be announced through Twitter. At around 9:30 a.m. on America's east coast, the Israeli Defense Forces' Twitter account, @IDFSpokesperson, tweeted news of "a widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the #Gaza Strip." Since then, the account has been live-tweeting the incursion, which has already killed Hamas military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari, producing an uncomfortable marriage between social media and a military strike. Here, a look at some of the most telling tweets so far:

[<a href="http://storify.com/TheWeek/the-israeli-army-live-tweets-its-anti-hamas-operat" target="_blank">View the story "The Israeli army live-tweets its anti-Hamas operation " on Storify</a>]

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Jessica Hullinger

Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.