A spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry said on Friday that the death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel had been revised to around 1,200 from a previous government estimate of 1,400.
If this were any other country in Europe or the US, no one would be questioning the doctors, the first responders, and news outlets who report their claims. Because ultimately, that’s what’s going on here.
I’m not sure what you’re getting at. There were some big allegations of mass rape and infant decapitations, which received a lot of attention and credulity and then turned out to be unsubstantiated. It’s happened before in other conflicts where unsubstantiated claims of specific attrocities have been used to dehumanize enemies and build support for war. The Nayirah testimony comes to mind as an infamous example. So, when I hear wild stories of victims bound together with steel wire (of all things) and then directly set on fire, I am rightfully skeptical.
The image of the CT scan the The Media Line shows something next to the torsos, but we don’t know what it is because there’s no quote from Dr. Kugel or any other expert to tell us. This report also omits a detail that the Guardian report includes, which is that the remains were recovered from a safe room in a kibbutz. Therefore, a scenario where the two individuals were tied together (with steel wire) and directly set on fire, as opposed to being trapped in a room in a burning building, seems relatively farfetched.
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood featured many confirmed atrocities. I’ve seen videos and read corroborating reports. I do not dispute that. What I take issue with are the uncorroborated rumors that seem designed to make people especially upset. The Israeli government, its supporters, and apologists were so quick and eager to run with the false allegations of mass rape and infant beheadings. If there was evidence that unequivocally confirmed that people were tied together and set on fire, a scene that might have come from a Saw sequel, they would absolutely be showcasing it. However, not even The Media Line report can produce a quote from a forensic expert (that isn’t an obvious lie) to support the allegation.
This was a big media press conference, and the presenter. The presenter, was Dr. Chen Kugel. This was a slide on his own presentation. Do you understand?
He does address all the scans, the metal wire in the photo, right there, direct quotes from him too I should have led with this. Around minute 6 is when the images posted come up.
Please watch the video, please please I feel like I’m going insane. I should have led with it but I didn’t know there was video of the whole press conference.
Thank you for finding the video. I wish the articles we have been referencing would have just linked to it. That said, the video does not substantiate the article from The Media Line.
Regarding the charred bodies, Dr. Kugel is clear that they were not directly set on fire. At about 24:24 he states that the bodies were in buildings that burned. Subsequently, he clarifies that carbon monoxide inhalation would have killed them before the fire itself, that they did not burn alive, as a small consolation to the surviving loved ones.
As for the steel wire, it is mentioned twice in the video:
At about 7:41, Dr. Kugel says that one of his colleagues “thinks” that an adult and child shown in one of the CT scans “might” have been bound together with steel wire and then burned. That is speculation, of course. I would speculate differently, but I think that would be an unnecessary digression.
At about 11:12, an unburned, or at least un-charred, body of an adult male is explained as having been “cuffed” with steel wire and then shot to death. Unlike the scan of the adult and child, a photograph of the steel wire from this case is actually presented.
So, from this press conference we have a confirmed case of steel wire being used to restrain a victim and multiple victims of arson. These findings are sad and horrifying, but, based on the facts we have, the allegation that people were ritualistically strapped together and burned alive (with the implication that it was a typical feature of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood), is not true. We need to be careful about fabrications and exaggerations for the reasons I mentioned previously.
At this point, I have also had enough of this discussion. It is an unpleasant topic and you have helped me get a better understanding for the basis and validity of the claim, which is what I originally sought.
I’m not sure what you’re getting at. There were some big allegations of mass rape and infant decapitations, which received a lot of attention and credulity and then turned out to be unsubstantiated. It’s happened before in other conflicts where unsubstantiated claims of specific attrocities have been used to dehumanize enemies and build support for war. The Nayirah testimony comes to mind as an infamous example. So, when I hear wild stories of victims bound together with steel wire (of all things) and then directly set on fire, I am rightfully skeptical.
The image of the CT scan the The Media Line shows something next to the torsos, but we don’t know what it is because there’s no quote from Dr. Kugel or any other expert to tell us. This report also omits a detail that the Guardian report includes, which is that the remains were recovered from a safe room in a kibbutz. Therefore, a scenario where the two individuals were tied together (with steel wire) and directly set on fire, as opposed to being trapped in a room in a burning building, seems relatively farfetched.
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood featured many confirmed atrocities. I’ve seen videos and read corroborating reports. I do not dispute that. What I take issue with are the uncorroborated rumors that seem designed to make people especially upset. The Israeli government, its supporters, and apologists were so quick and eager to run with the false allegations of mass rape and infant beheadings. If there was evidence that unequivocally confirmed that people were tied together and set on fire, a scene that might have come from a Saw sequel, they would absolutely be showcasing it. However, not even The Media Line report can produce a quote from a forensic expert (that isn’t an obvious lie) to support the allegation.
You understand what you’re saying right.
This was a big media press conference, and the presenter. The presenter, was Dr. Chen Kugel. This was a slide on his own presentation. Do you understand?
Boom:
https://youtu.be/SoTItPHa6mw?si=zPYvRhDoj1D-nwSB
Video of the actual press conference.
Please relent, it’s giving me a headache.
He does address all the scans, the metal wire in the photo, right there, direct quotes from him too I should have led with this. Around minute 6 is when the images posted come up.
Please watch the video, please please I feel like I’m going insane. I should have led with it but I didn’t know there was video of the whole press conference.
Thank you for finding the video. I wish the articles we have been referencing would have just linked to it. That said, the video does not substantiate the article from The Media Line.
Regarding the charred bodies, Dr. Kugel is clear that they were not directly set on fire. At about 24:24 he states that the bodies were in buildings that burned. Subsequently, he clarifies that carbon monoxide inhalation would have killed them before the fire itself, that they did not burn alive, as a small consolation to the surviving loved ones.
As for the steel wire, it is mentioned twice in the video:
At about 7:41, Dr. Kugel says that one of his colleagues “thinks” that an adult and child shown in one of the CT scans “might” have been bound together with steel wire and then burned. That is speculation, of course. I would speculate differently, but I think that would be an unnecessary digression.
At about 11:12, an unburned, or at least un-charred, body of an adult male is explained as having been “cuffed” with steel wire and then shot to death. Unlike the scan of the adult and child, a photograph of the steel wire from this case is actually presented.
So, from this press conference we have a confirmed case of steel wire being used to restrain a victim and multiple victims of arson. These findings are sad and horrifying, but, based on the facts we have, the allegation that people were ritualistically strapped together and burned alive (with the implication that it was a typical feature of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood), is not true. We need to be careful about fabrications and exaggerations for the reasons I mentioned previously.
At this point, I have also had enough of this discussion. It is an unpleasant topic and you have helped me get a better understanding for the basis and validity of the claim, which is what I originally sought.