Israel declared war against Hamas after the terrorist group and governmental organization launched an unprecedented attack over the weekend of Oct. 7, killing hundreds of Israelis. Now, more than a thousand people have died since the Israeli-Palestinian (Hamas) conflict started, including at least nine Americans.
This attack raises several questions for the U.S. about sending aid and military support to Israel, and which sources to trust for information.
The White House confirms that President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend and reiterated to him the U.S.’ commitment to supporting the Israeli government and people.
Right now, the Pentagon is sending assistance. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the United States is sending the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, along with 5,000 U.S. sailors, several fighter aircraft and munitions to the eastern Mediterranean “to bolster regional deterrence efforts.”
A fake document, appeared to be signed by Biden circulated online over the weekend, saying the U.S. is sending $8 billion in aid to Israel. The White House confirms that this document is not real.
Any aid package to Israel will need congressional approval from both chambers, which may prove difficult. Last week, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted as U.S. speaker of the House, so the House cannot introduce new pieces of legislation.
This means that until the House votes in another speaker, additional aid cannot be sent to Israel.
During chaos on the ground in Israel, misinformation is spreading online over the deadly attacks. In some instances, video views have hit the millions.
One video that circulated on X has been seen more than 10 million times. It depicts members of Iran’s Parliament chanting “death to America.” This video is not new. It was in response to the killing by the United States of one its most influential commanders, Qasem Soleimani, in a drone strike near Baghdad international airport.
This video was recorded in 2020, and there has been no recorded similar activity since Saturday’s attack.
Another video depicting rockets being fired by Hamas toward Israel garnered nearly 2 million views on X, however, the video is three years old and from Syria.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of social media posts peddling misinformation. X’s “community notes” are used to combat misinformation on its platform, but with the situation in Israel changing hour-by-hour, it’s unclear if the feature will be able to keep up with the influx of fake or misleading videos and posts.
The community notes’ X page recently posted that it was working on the issue to speed up how fast it can address misinformation on the platform.
X owner Elon Musk isn’t helping the situation. As details were unfolding over the weekend, the tech billionaire directed his more than 150 million followers to get their war updates from accounts that have been known to spread misinformation in the past.
Musk deleted the post after three hours, however, it was seen by 11 million accounts.
