In the current hostage crisis, we the media must inform while avoiding playing into Hamas’ psychological warfare tactics

Since last October, Israeli society has been inundated by media outlets publishing images, videos and personal testimonies illustrating the horrifying atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and in the days that followed.

The latest example came last Tuesday evening when the IDF released footage from within the tunnel where the six Israeli hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists.

Twenty meters underground, the narrow and suffocating tunnel contained bottles used as makeshift toilets, rags barely identifiable as women’s clothing, and large bloodstains marking the spot where the hostages were executed.

The sight of such details is horrifying. The questions we at ALL ISRAEL NEWS ask ourselves – knowing the influence and responsibility we carry as a news site – are: How much should we report; and what is the purpose of such reports?

Even more challenging are the hostage videos released.

Initially, the Israeli media refrained from publishing such videos or images of the hostages, correctly pointing out that they were intentionally cruel and designed as psychological warfare.

However, in recent months, there has been a growing trend to show portions of these clips, often with the permission of the families and with the intention of increasing pressure on the government.

It is important to be honest about what we all know: Hamas’ goal in releasing this “horror footage” is clear. The terrorists want as many Israelis as possible to see these videos and feel the pain and torment of the hostages. That’s their purpose - to manipulate our emotions.

We all pray for the quick release of the hostages and support the need of the families to express their despair and protest for the release of their loved ones. This is their right and, if we were in their place, it’s fair to say we would likely do the same.

Yet, as members of the media, we must still ask ourselves what our role is in this process.

Hamas obviously seeks both attention and casualties, and this nevertheless underscores the complex relationship between media coverage and terrorist objectives. This also highlights the tension inherent in covering atrocities.

While the Israeli media’s increased focus on the hostages, may be driven, in part, by genuine compassion for our suffering Israeli brothers and sisters, it can also serve political agendas that inadvertently play into Hamas’ hands, unwittingly turning the media into a conduit for Hamas' strategy.

However, this natural impulse – rooted in compassion and concern – has increasingly been hijacked by various actors seeking to exert political pressure on decision-makers, whether by protest organizers or certain media outlets. Some of these actors have a clear agenda to overthrow the current government and remove Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

Critics, including his own defense minister, argue that Netanyahu’s decision-making has become tainted, influenced by personal political interests. At ALL ISRAEL NEWS, we are not taking a political stance for or against the current government. We have reported on these concerns but strive to remain fair by also covering Netanyahu’s stance.

In a Western-style democracy like Israel, voters must be as informed as possible to make decisions.

Israel’s current situation – facing an existential war against Iran’s Axis of Terror – requires media outlets to ask themselves some important questions.

Does the media need to broadcast every last bit of information, even if it is distressing, demoralizing or divisive? Is there a responsibility to avoid fracturing society, or conversely, should the media aim to unite the public by communicating certain horrific stories?

Media outlets must recognize their role not only as informers, but also as potential shapers of public resilience. They must strike a balance between transparency and national security; between emotional resonance and strategic wisdom.

We at ALL ISRAEL NEWS strive to inform believers around the world as comprehensively and reasonably as possible, including addressing the failures of Israel’s government and its security establishment.

While we have a responsibility to remind the world about the hostages, their stories, and their suffering, we aim to do so without becoming instruments of Hamas’ psychological warfare.

We at ALL ISRAEL NEWS strive to responsibly cover the hostage crisis and tell the stories of individual hostages and their families – including covering their protests against the government – without adopting and advancing the explicit political premise in much of the Israeli media that blames the government for the failed hostage negotiations.

It remains unclear to us what the best path is for crafting a deal with a terror organization that cannot be trusted. Bringing home the remaining 101 hostages held in Gaza is of utmost importance but finding a way to do so without fully capitulating to Hamas is a complex matter. Indeed, after Hamas brutally and cruelly executed six of our hostages in cold blood, we are not convinced that the terror group is genuinely interested in a deal. If Israel’s government makes many new concessions now, what would prevent Hamas from demanding even more far-reaching concessions in the future?

So, while we are praying earnestly and without ceasing for God to perform a miracle to set the captives free, according to Isaiah 61, we simply do not accept the simplistic narrative held by much of the Israeli media that our government is the stumbling block unwilling to make a reasonable deal to bring our hostages home. We also reject the extreme accusations of those who label Netanyahu a murderer of the hostages and place sole responsibility on him for the Israeli failures that led to Oct. 7.

We want to make our stance at ALL ISRAEL NEWS clear: Hamas is to blame.

For us, covering Hamas atrocities serves one main purpose – it reveals to the world the character of the enemy we are dealing with in Israel.

Hamas is a murderous, radical Islamist terror group that kidnaps children, women and the elderly simply for being Israeli – or merely in Israel – torturing them for months before brutally murdering them.

The world needs to know this and understand the implications. This is our goal.

We call on believers around the world to pray for healing and unity in Israeli society, for world leaders to use their influence to increase pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal and, most importantly, for the release of all remaining Israeli hostages.