'Israel' used fake 3D tunnel footage to justify Gaza genocide: LaSexta
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An investigation reveals that the Israeli military used fake 3D animations to falsely show Hamas tunnels in Gaza, as part of a disinformation campaign to justify the genocide.
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People walk through an installation simulating a tunnel in Gaza in an act of solidarity with captives believed to be held underground by Hamas and calling for their return, in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on January 13, 2024. (AP)
A journalistic investigation by LaSexta has revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli occupation army used fabricated 3D simulations to support claims about Hamas tunnel networks in Gaza. These digital models were presented as real evidence during official briefings aimed at justifying the genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The investigative team found that identical computer-generated animations were repurposed multiple times to depict alleged underground infrastructure beneath civilian locations, including hospitals and schools.
The report further highlights that some visuals were not produced by Israeli intelligence, as implied, but were instead sourced online. One such model, created by a Scottish museum to illustrate a ship repair shop, was reused by the Israeli army and portrayed as an alleged Hamas tunnel system.
While Israeli military spokespersons later admitted that the visuals were merely illustrative, they were already widely disseminated to reinforce the narrative that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as shields.
"This is just an illustration," one spokesperson stated, adding, "We are not going to share the actual images we have in our hands," doubling down on claims that tunnel networks exist beneath hospitals and other public facilities.
'Israel' used infrastructure claims in several countries
The investigation also uncovered a broader pattern of similar disinformation tactics used by "Israel" in previous military operations. According to the report, 3D reenactments and fabricated animations have been used to depict alleged infrastructure in Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, countries that were later targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
Analysts and human rights organizations have condemned the use of manipulated visuals as part of a systematic propaganda campaign aimed at shaping public opinion and manufacturing justification for military aggression.
One example is how the Israeli occupation falsely claimed last year that Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza served as a base for Hamas. IOF spokesperson Daniel Hagari had come out with what he claimed was "concrete evidence", implicating five hospital buildings in Hamas operations during a briefing on October 27, 2023.
This culminated in an IOF raid on the hospital on November 15, 2023, in which Israeli forces opened fire indiscriminately toward its windows and wards, cutting off all communications to the hospital. Dozens of Israeli soldiers also stormed the emergency department at al-Shifa, leading to the martyrdom and severe injury of scores of Palestinians, including babies.
Afterward, the IOF posted laughable footage of "evidence" linking Hamas to the hospital, and later three journalists from The New York Times, who were escorted by the invading Israeli forces through "only a portion of the sprawling al-Shifa complex," debunked the Israeli claim of a Hamas military facility under the hospital.
A Washington Post investigation revealed that evidence shows otherwise.
