The Hamas-run Government Media Office in Gaza recently issued a statement alleging that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is smuggling narcotics (Oxycodone) into the Strip to harm local families. However, based on the open-source evidence I have reviewed, these allegations appear to be unsubstantiated and poorly supported. This fits a broader pattern of Hamas’s persistent efforts to delegitimize and obstruct the GHF. For instance, I have seen social media posts by Palestinians claiming that the GHF distributed expired cheese, an accusation that is categorically false, as the organization does not distribute perishable goods. It is important to recall that less than a month ago, Hamas operatives executed GHF staff members, mere days after its Arrow Unit published threats against Palestinians it accused of collaborating with the "occupation." This is a well-worn disinformation tactic: one or two unverifiable claims are made, Hamas amplifies them via its media apparatus, and then they are laundered through international media outlets. Consider the case of Dr. Fadel Naim, frequently cited by foreign media as a source regarding Israeli strikes on hospitals in Gaza. Few outlets disclosed that he is the brother of senior Hamas official Basem Naim, or that one of his children was killed while serving in Hamas’s so-called military wing. The information only came to light after an investigation by FDD’s Long War Journal. I have said this repeatedly: every piece of information emerging from Gaza must be rigorously scrutinized. The cost of failing to do so is the uncritical dissemination of propaganda.
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