The picture to the right shows angry Palestinian paramedics hurrying to get wounded people to a hospital. This picture was plastered over the front page of www.iol.co.za - South Africa's premiere news website.
The image is indicative of the type of media bias running rampant in the world in reporting that is blatantly pro-Palestinian. The image not only generates massive viewer sympathy for an apparent aggressive Israeli strike, it allows for the seeds of hatred to germinate.
Before the picture is explained in more detail, it is important to understand what happened on this very day in the south of Israel. Dozens of mortars and rockets pounded Israel (Some 50 or more). In fact the area that militants were targeting was the coastline, knowing full well that thousands of Israelis are enjoying their summer vacation along the coastal strip.
This picture is the result of the deadly shrapnel from a mortar that landed in the south of Israel. A woman was moderately wounded in this terrorist attack. This is the picture that IOL never showed. This is the picture of fear that is in the mind of every Israeli living in the south of Israel. Militant accuracy aside, if these explosives hit their targets - as they did at the Ashkelon mall recently - the damage is catastrophic.
Palestinian terrorists target civilians indiscriminately; Israeli forces target militants precisely. Collateral damage is an unavoidable factor, but the IDF hit/miss ratio is as low as it can be.
The terrorist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, blaming Israel for the death of a bomb-maker and his family in Gaza. The truth is the bomb-maker inadvertently detonated his own explosives - killing his family; wounding countless others and leveling his apartment.
And here is the proof
'Gaza blast caused as gunmen prepared for martyrdom op'
By YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST.COM STAFF
"Hamas's military wing, Izzadin Kassam, said Friday that the previous day's deadly blast in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya was caused by an accident as operatives were "preparing for a special martyrdom operation."
Western Negev comes under heavy rocket barrage
Eight people, including an infant girl, were killed in the powerful explosion, which flattened the home of a Hamas operative.
After Hamas initially blamed Israel for the blast, the IDF immediately said that that was not caused by an Israeli attack but was rather a "work accident," most likely caused by terrorists' faulty handling of explosives.
Rockets began to fly shortly after the blast, with more than 50 mortar shells, Kassam and Katyusha rockets fired into Israel.
An Israeli woman was moderately wounded by shrapnel in an attack on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai shortly after noon and evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. A number of fires broke out following the attack..."
Food for thought...
