Israeli military runs racist '72 Virgins' Telegram channel: Haaretz

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
12 Dec 2023 23:57
28 Shares

The Israeli Operations Directorate's Influencing Department is reportedly running a xenophobic Telegram channel, featuring content filmed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

A screengrab from the Israeli occupation forces run "72 Virgins - Uncensored", which shares racist anti-Palestinian content (Telegram)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) Operations Directorate's Influencing Department, is running a Telegram channel, named "72 Virgins - Uncensored", that shares gruesome footage taken by invading soldiers in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Footage and photos, shared by the channel's administrator, are usually accompanied by captions celebrating Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Influencing Department is responsible for the occupation's psychological warfare operations which target Palestinians and foreign audiences.

🇵🇸🇮🇱🚨‼️ BREAKING: “The Israeli military's Operations Directorate runs a Telegram channel titled
-> 72 Virgins – Uncensored

It shares sadistic images depicting Israelis murdering Palestinians and mutilating their bodies.”

— Ha'aretz pic.twitter.com/1aJGJExOBN
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 12, 2023

Zionist racial hatred for Palestinians comes as no surprise, as official Israeli accounts have battled hard to normalize an anti-Palestinian sentiment, in conjunction with its aggression on the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials have also publicly stated opinions shared by the channel's administrators, highlighting deep-rooted systematic xenophobia and extremism within Israeli society.

The channel run by the IOF, has also propagated racial derogatory stereotypes, to an engaged Israeli audience, in an attempt to dehumanize Palestinians, a tactic employed by Nazi officials against minorities during World War II.

Moreover, specific footage highlights occupation forces desecrating the bodies of Palestinian martyrs in the Gaza Strip, which the channel's subscribers joyfully celebrate.

US disturbed by Israeli actions

The channel reveals some of the criminal actions committed by Israeli occupation forces, which have been overshadowed by public Israeli footage and statements that bear similar sentiments.

Washington has seen footage of occupation soldiers stripping down Palestinian men in the streets of Gaza, which triggered global outrage on social media platforms. Although the United States promptly accepted the Israeli narrative of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, framing Resistance fighters as members of ISIS, the images from Gaza, were only deeply concerning to US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Miller, who was pressed on the issue, refused to describe the event as anything more than "disturbing", avoiding the condemnation of a blatant crime against prisoners of war.

All that the State Department did in the aftermath was say that it asked the Israeli occupation for clarification regarding its actions. Some Palestinians said they recognized relatives in the images and denied they had links to Hamas or any other group. Some, they said, were children.

Palestinian American, Hani Almadhoun, said he recognized his 12-year-old relative among those detained and denied his relative had any links to Hamas.

In turn, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stressed they were concerned of the images and underscored the importance of treating detainees with humanity and dignity as required by international humanitarian law.