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Hamas Inflating Malnutrition Deaths in "Orchestrated Campaign"
(Times of Israel) Emanuel Fabian - Hamas has been inflating the toll of Palestinians it says have died of malnutrition, and most of those who have died had preexisting medical conditions, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said. Israeli security officials and medical experts who reviewed Hamas's starvation claims in Gaza found "an orchestrated campaign as part of a broader effort to discredit the State of Israel and achieve political gains." "The thorough review found a significant gap between the number of deaths attributed to malnutrition as reported by Hamas's health ministry and the cases documented and published with full identifying details in the media and on social media," COGAT said. "The documented cases do not represent the condition of the general population in Gaza but rather selectively present extreme cases involving preexisting illnesses." COGAT said that "by analyzing broader photographic evidence and other available intelligence, [it] concluded that there are no signs of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon among the population in Gaza. The Hamas terrorist organization cynically exploits tragic images and misuses them for a false and timed propaganda campaign aimed at generating pressure and creating negative public opinion against the State of Israel."