IDF calls days of the week 'Hamas terrorists on shift' at Rantisi hospital in Gaza. Twitter reacts

In a video shared on Twitter by IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF soldier points to a seeming calendar tallying days on the hospital wall, asserting it contained the names of terrorists on shift guarding hostages. Upon closer examination, it was revealed that the calendar simply displayed the days of the week in Arabic.

What

The attempt to associate the paper with a malevolent agenda has raised doubts about the reliability of the IDF's information. The calendar, in Arabic, was termed  of 'Al-Aqsa Toofan 7/10/2023', and showed days from October 7, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel.

• The IDF in the video suggested that hostages were being held in the hospital's basement.

Special footage from the Rantisi hospital in Gaza - on the basement floor, a room was found with signs indicating hostages were held there, underground headquarters and a room full of weapons inside the hospital: pic.twitter.com/pDsyA1mT6T

— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) November 13, 2023

What else

• The IDF claimed that the contents of the hospital, including women's clothes, diapers, milk, and an improvised toilet, were evidence of hostages being held.

This is the most ridiculous propaganda ever. This part really sent me though. iT’s A bAbY bOtTlE iN tHe BaSeMeNt 🤡 pic.twitter.com/NVsGKwhN8k

— Jen Aydin’s blunt (@ellethescorpio) November 14, 2023

• The presence of curtains, the IDF claimed, were a set for hostage videos.
• Critics were also quick to point out the logistical challenges of moving hostages in and out of a facility surrounded by IDF soldiers and tanks.

The Israeli army has failed to find tunnels or weapons stockpiled in Rantisi hospital. Instead, it has turned up a pack of diapers and a calendar listing the days of the week. The presentation has become a laughingstock, except among the cretinous and narrowing base of support… https://t.co/R5mAeEO5ra

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) November 14, 2023

IDF's claims

The lack of credible evidence raises concerns about the authenticity of the IDF's claims and the potential for misinformation.

• Israeli media's swift dissemination of the IDF's narrative without verifying the Arabic language "terror list" adds another layer of concern.

it’s literally a calendar with the days of the week written in arabic 😭 pic.twitter.com/8V3idEre3k

— Hurt CoPain (@SaeedDiCaprio) November 13, 2023

The situation at Rantisi Children's Hospital is part of a broader context, where three major hospitals in northern Gaza have become targets of Israeli attacks.

These hospitals have served as vital shelters for displaced civilians, and Israel's efforts to eliminate them are ostensibly aimed at pushing the population southward, creating pressure on Egypt to accept refugees.

Do you condemn the calendar with the days written in Arabic? pic.twitter.com/V1hbDz3S1u

— Jairo I Fúnez-Flores (@Jairo_I_Funez) November 13, 2023

Arabic as 'evil'

Social media reactions to the incident highlight the danger of making assumptions based on the Arabic language, emphasising the necessity for linguistic and cultural understanding to avoid perpetuating unfounded fears rooted in Islamophobia. 

Reminds me of that one tote bag in arabic where someone translated it and it said "this text has no use other than to terrorize those afraid of the arabic language" it was very funny

— 🇮🇹Edoardo (Off and On) | 🇵🇸🇺🇦🇦🇲 (@uomofocaccina63) November 13, 2023

Users also drew parallels with previous instances where Arabic text was misinterpreted.

Scare a local with "I love choccy milk" in Arabic calligraphy. https://t.co/rdxkGB4w7I

— الحمص (@RoastedHummus) November 14, 2023

The Israel-Hamas war has entered its second month, with thousands of people killed in Gaza. Israel retaliated after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, and took hundreds of hostages.