In an apparent Hamas propaganda coup, social media and established news outlets are widely reporting that Israel’s “occupation forces” are dropping cruel leaflets over Gaza urging residents to leave the Strip or be forced out. Israel says the leaflets are fake.  

“Occupation forces dropped leaflets in Gaza overnight on Wednesday telling civilians ‘the world map will not change if all the people of Gaza vanish,’” ABC News is reporting from London. While the piece contains widely-available quotes from Israeli officials on other Gaza-related issues, its four authors cite no Israel Defense Force spokesperson’s comment on the leaflets drop. 

According to Israeli security officials “these leaflets, which Gazans claim were dropped by Israeli aircraft from the air, are fake and they may have been printed in Gaza for propaganda purposes,” Kan News’ military correspondent, Itay Blumenthal, writes on X. He notes that the Arabic-language leaflets “unusually” bear the logo of Shabak, Israel’s FBI equivalent.  

The IDF often uses air-dropped leaflets and other warnings to warn Gazan civilians of pending strikes. In a Wednesday message, the IDF Arabic language spokesman, Avichai Adraee, called on northern Gaza residents to relocate to the south, pending ground forces operations. Shabak — the Hebrew acronym for general security service — though, is more known for clandestine operations than public attempts at intimidating Palestinians. 

The apparently fake leaflets made the rounds on Arabic, Hebrew, and English social media. Their text was widely echoed as evidence of Israel’s “genocidal” intentions. “Before the implementation of Trump’s plan, which will impose your forced displacement whether you like it or not, we have decided to make a final appeal to those who wish to receive aid in exchange for cooperating with us,” the leaflets read. 

“Neither the U.S. nor Europe cares about Gaza,” the text adds. “Not even your Arab countries, which are now our allies, supplying us with money, oil, and weapons, while sending you only coffins. The game is almost over, and only a little remains. Whoever wants to save themselves before it’s too late, we are here to stay until Judgment Day.”

The IDF on Wednesday deepened ground incursion into Gaza. In an effort to cut the Strip in half, the military is recapturing the Netzarim Corridor at the center of Gaza. As part of the cease-fire agreement launched on January 19, Israeli forces evacuated the corridor, which allowed movement of population and armed terrorists from south to north. 

Hamas used the cease-fire months to regroup, re-dig tunnels, and rearm. On Wednesday Israeli residents across the country’s central region were forced to bomb shelters after projectiles were launched from Gaza. Most were intercepted and there were no reports of casualties.