Invisibility – Hamas’s secret weapon in the media war

People are pretty easily led. They tend to form opinions based on what they see or read. When they see an image or headline, it sticks in their mind. If they don’t see it, there’s nothing to stick. They’ve seen a lot of Israeli aggression in this war – missile tracers, soldiers, tanks, destroyed buildings. They’ve seen a lot of Palestinian suffering – mass corpses, grisly hospital scenes, mothers wailing.

But they haven’t seen a lot of Hamas because they’ve been largely invisible. It’s hard to get outraged at a terrorist group when you don’t see them do anything. In turn, it’s hardly surprising that there is such a huge tide of public opinion against Israel - and in support of Palestine.

I was reminded of the importance of visibility when I visited the encampment at the University of Sydney - and saw the posters and their messages on the front lawn: “Gadigal 2 Gaza”, “the Political Economy Society stands with Gaza”, “Free Palestine – End Apartheid, Stop Genocide”, “The University of Thales” (a weapons manufacturer).

One poster stood out among the others. Designed in the same style as the Israeli hostage posters that appeared after October 7, it showed the names and faces of children who had been killed, allegedly by Israel, in the years before the Hamas massacre on October 7.

The banner read “Murdered by Israel”.

Most of the Israeli hostage posters read “Bring Them Home” or “Kidnapped” – without mentioning Hamas. On reflection, that was a mistake. Some have had the name in small type added later. Naming Hamas from the start would remind the casual onlooker that these Israeli victims didn’t just disappear. Hamas took them. It would emphasise that Hamas was and is an active force in this war.