An Indian television crew has managed to do the impossible: They captured video of several men, presumably linked to Hamas, building and burying a rocket that was launched the next morning at Israel.
In the video, uploaded to YouTube on August 5, an NDTV journalist stands by a window, surrounded by nearby hotels. Outside, a small blue tent has been erected overnight, and militants look to be constructing something underneath. Eventually, the tent is disassembled, and whatever they were working on appears covered with shrubbery.
They fired the rocket the next morning, just before the ongoing cease-fire took effect Tuesday, according to Business Insider’s Jeremy Bender.
The jarring thing about the video isn’t that such things happen — in fact, it is widely agreed that Hamas militants operate out of populated areas. Rather, it was shocking that someone finally managed to get it on tape. At Medium, Michael Peck explained why:
This is because Hamas’ fighters stay out of sight and away from Israeli fire—so the press never glimpse them. At least that’s what one New York Times photographer says.
Others say that you never see Hamas launching rockets because the militants threaten any journalist who even tries to catch them in the act. Photographing dead Palestinians is fine with them. Photographing Palestinians trying to kill Israeli civilians is not.
He added that the crew only released the video once they were safely out of Gaza. Militants wouldn’t take kindly to their methodology being exposed, the reasoning goes.
The conflict is currently on hold for a 72-hour cease-fire, scheduled to end Friday. However, it’s possible that the cease-fire will be extended even further.
This comes amid announcements from Israel that Hassam Qawasameh, the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, has admitted involvement from Hamas leadership in Gaza. Earlier reports about statements from Israeli officials called that claim into question.
