International press in Gaza has hardly reported on how Hamas operates in this round of fighting and photos or video of Hamas fighters from recent weeks are rare, the reason for which became apparent this week as several journalists reported being threatened and even expelled from Gaza for reporting the terrorist organization uses civilian sites to attack Israel.Reporters from Italy and the US corroborated the IDF's explanation for
explosions near Shifa Hospital and by a playground in Shati on Tuesday, that it was a result of rockets misfired by Gazan terrorists.
However, one altered his report and another waited to leave Gaza because he feared retribution from Hamas.Italian journalist Gabriele Barbati tweeted a photo on Tuesday as he went through the Erez crossing into Israel.
Barbati then he tweeted the following in Italian and English: "Out of Gaza far from Hamas retaliation: Misfired rocket killed children [yesterday] in Shati. Witness: militants rushed and cleared debris."
He followed that tweet with another: "@IDFSpokesperson said truth in communique released yesterday about Shati camp massacre. It was not Israel behind it."
The Wall Street Journal's Middle East Correspondent based in Egypt Tamer El-Ghobashy tweeted a photo of rubble with the explanation: "An outside wall on the campus of Gaza's main hospital was hit by a strike. Low level damage suggest Hamas misfire."Soon after, El-Ghobashy deleted the tweet, similar to his Wall Street Journal colleague Nick Casey, who tweeted a photo of a Hamas official using Shifa hospital for media appearances last week and then deleted it.
El-Ghobashy then replaced the same tweet with the same photo and the text: "The outer wall of Gaza City's main hospital was struck. Unclear what the origin of the projectile is."Reporters Without Borders confirmed to Liberation that many journalists reported being threatened by Hamas, though the organization's website criticizes Israel.Pro-Palestinian activists and journalists, including Fadi Arouri from Al-Ayyam, reported on Wednesday that RT (formerly Russia Today) correspondent Harry Fear was told to leave Gaza after he tweeted about Hamas rockets being fired into Israel from near his hotel.
In another tweet from last week, Fear called Al-Wafa hospital "the hospital with human shields."
A writer for the anti-Israel site Electronic Intifada tweeted that he is celebrating Fear's expulsion from Gaza, the "best news ever," by eating a lot of sweets.
Of course, these expulsions only work when Hamas allows journalists to leave Gaza. Last week, Huffington Post Middle East Correspondent Sophia Jones tweeted: "The Israeli side of the border with Gaza was briefly open today, but Hamas did not let journalists leave Gaza."