‘Not a Borat Sketch!’: Israeli military releases secret terrorist ‘roster’ that turns out to be a calendar
The Israeli military is receiving pushback after releasing footage of what it claimed was a secret terrorist roster discovered in a hospital in Gaza that turned out to be a calendar.
The video, published online this week by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), highlights alleged evidence said to indicate that Hamas had been using the Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City as a command center.
An IDF spokesperson can be seen showcasing a weapons cache and a room allegedly used to hold hostages, among other things. But one item in particular, described as a schedule for Hamas members carrying out guard duties at the hospital, has been met with criticism.
Many were quick to note that the so-called roster was just a calendar that contained no names whatsoever. Instead, the writing on the calendar simply lists out the days of the week.
"There you have it folks, when Israel is done killing hospital patients, aid workers and journalists, it is going after every terrorist on this list," one user wrote. "Their names are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday!"
A translation of the list by the Daily Dot confirms that the calendar does in fact list out days of the week. But others online noted that the criticisms of the calendar omitted reference to Oct. 7, the day in which Hamas killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel and took another 240 hostages.
"Yeah, the words are days of the week but at the top it says 'Battle of Al-Aqsa' with the date 10/7/2023," another added alongside a translation of the image. "So he's definitely wrong that this is a list of guard names, but 100% right that this has something to do with 10/7 and the aftermath, until 11/3."
Despite the back-and-forth, the calendar's provenance is unclear. While no names are listed as claimed by the IDF, a reference to Oct. 7 is visible.
Suggestions have been made ranging from the claim that the calendar was merely being used by hospital workers and that Israel could have added the reference to Oct. 7, although there is no evidence to substantiate any such allegations.
The footage highlights the distrust many have of information coming out of the conflict. Misinformation has been rampant on social media since the fighting broke out last month.
The death toll in Palestine following Israel's response, according to Gaza's Health MInistry, has reportedly surpassed 11,000 people.
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