Buried in a long and detailed briefing by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were a couple of important descriptions of Hamas activity that, via repetition, have lost their ability to command headlines.

An IDF operation at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis uncovered the following:

• Vehicles used by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 slaughter;
• Vehicles of October 7 victims stolen by Hamas;
• Hamas terrorists involved in October 7;
• Hamas members dressed as medical staff;
• Weapons and explosives;
• Medicine intended and marked for hostages but withheld from them.

The military released a video of the medications, which clearly showed the names of the hostages they were intended for and, for some, a clear picture of the hostage next to the name. The medicine was sent through European intermediaries and then to Egypt, crossing into Gaza at Rafah. Some of the intended recipients are still being held by Hamas—in need of the medication that Hamas kept for itself.

Coincidentally, that’s what happens to humanitarian aid intended for Gazans, too. Actual civilians—not Hamasniks in scrubs—get shot at by their terrorist overlords for trying to claim some of the humanitarian aid that should be theirs entirely.

But for that to be considered newsworthy, the world would have to be capable of making such a distinction. Instead, everyone who reports the Gaza death toll fed to them by Hamas has made a clear choice to erase the line between soldier and civilian. So it’s no surprise that Hamas terrorists dressed up as hospital personnel raise no alarms among the same coterie of Western media and “human rights” groups.

To Hamas, there’s no such thing as a civilian. To the world, there’s no such thing as Hamas.

Which is why the true legacy of Hamas’s actions will be the death of the concept of international law itself. When people use phrases like “the suicide of the West,” this is a good example. Journalists, NGOs, medical collaboratives, governments, international courts—by allowing Hamas to build an entire war strategy out of militarizing supposedly neutral institutions, they are signaling in no unclear terms that this is the strategy to pursue if you want international aid and intervention against your foes.

Journalists’ disregard for their own profession is among the more galling on that list. What has been happening lately is the following: a Hamas militant wearing a PRESS vest—like a terrorist wearing scrubs—is killed or wounded in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas then reports that as a “murdered journalist” to organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists. And the CPJ relays that false information to other journalists, who report it.

Why is Mustafa Thuraya, a deputy commander in Hamas’s Gaza City brigade who was killed in Gaza last month, listed by CPJ as a “freelance videographer”? Why is Hamza Al Dahdouh, an engineer and rocket-crew commander in Palestinian Islamic Jihad who was killed in the same strike, listed as a “camera operator” for Al Jazeera?

For the same reason that a Hamasnik who works part time for UNRWA is only ever referred to as a UN employee: AJ and UNRWA are essentially fronts. If Yahya Sinwar wants a bit of insurance in case he is captured alive, he can write PRESS on his forehead with a Sharpie. His arrest will immediately be forwarded to the International Court of Justice (sic) so Israel can be charged with detaining journalists.

Ismail Abu Omar was injured last week in the fighting. He was wearing a PRESS vest. The last time we saw him was in photos and videos of Hamas carrying out the slaughter in Nir Oz on October 7. Al Jazeera flew him back to Doha for treatment, which made more sense after Israel pointed to the footage of Omar in action back in October.

Al Jazeera has also claimed Mohamed Washah as a journalist of theirs. Washah is very busy, according to documentation recovered and released by the IDF, which lists him as a Hamas commander in an anti-tank unit. Unfortunately, Al Jazeera seems to have recently pulled Washah’s reporting videos.

I’ve written over the course of the war about the Hamas insiders who have also accepted freelance bylines with Western media. But the earlier examples are different in one key way: I can believe U.S.-based outlets have abided by a strict “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule when it comes to these freelancers’ day jobs. But Al Jazeera doesn’t have the ability to play dumb.

Neither, as we’ve seen, do UNRWA and other such agencies. What’s happening is clear: international agencies and media organizations and other NGOs are dismantling international law brick by brick, and laying the groundwork for Hamas knockoffs to kill and rape with impunity. In the process, CPJ and others like them are putting actual journalists—there are some real journalists in the region!—in extreme danger. And the United Nations is putting all civilians at great risk. War is about to become even more dangerous for everyone thanks to them.