Israel showed US 'smoking gun' on Hamas in AP office tower, officials say

[haele]

6. Hamas also does charity work in Gaza. That's how they hide behind civilians.

So basically, anyone who takes Hamas charity is a member of Hamas, whether they're firing rockets or just going to school under a Hamas grant. Hamas assets include businesses, clinics, and housing that are subsidized by Hamas/Iran.

That's called soft influence, and it's very difficult for the locals in Gaza to think badly of an organization acting like any other NGO that is helping them start businesses and their kids to go past basic schooling.

So as someone who is fairly old, who has observed the I/P situation since the 1960's, spoken to both Palestinians and Israelis, and actually read history concerning both sides, I am concerned how the IDF defines a "smoking gun" if the AP and other press organizations who operate 24/7 - including their security services and cameras - in that building say they have not seen any evidence of Hamas activity and want to know why they were targeted.

FWIW, Hamas -and Hezbollah - have been Iranian proxies from before the fall of the Shah - our own CIA proxy to manage both OPEC and any growth of Soviet influence in the area. That the Shah also had his own plans for the region didn't bother the US so long as those plans went along with US foreign policy.

Haele

Haele