Civilian Videos Capture Violence in Israel, Gaza

As attacks escalate between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, civilians on both sides of the conflict are posting homemade videos to social media as part of a growing trend of citizen war correspondence in an era of Internet hyperconnectivity.

On Tuesday afternoon, air raid sirens could be heard in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial center. Video taken from above shows a large crowd of Israeli civilians scrambling for shelter.

Post by Vany Cohen.

Resident David Shomer posted a video of the Israeli Army intercepting the missile that triggered the air-raid sirens. Additional missiles have reportedly been shot down since. “Oh my God, it’s missiles! Dude, missiles going off. That’s freaky!” Shomer says in the video, as he watched the Israeli Defense Force’s Iron Dome defense system take out the inbound missiles. “IDF rocks!”

Post by Dovid Shomer.

Local reports show that rocket attacks on Israel have intensified; the Israeli Defense Force said as many as 255 rockets had been fired into Israeli territory in recent days.

Israel, meanwhile, says it hit more than 150 targets in Gaza between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, bringing the total to around 440 targets since “Operation Protective Edge” began on July 8, according to the New York Times.

Palestinian officials claim at least 23 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, among them at least three children, according to a New York Times report. Footage posted from Gaza City shows multiple Israeli air attacks on the city on Tuesday afternoon.

“It won’t end in a day, and it won’t end in two days,” Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Israel’s Cabinet minister for internal security, told Channel 2 TV on Tuesday. He said there are no immediate efforts at reaching a cease-fire.

Tensions between Israel and Palestine came to a boil when three Israeli teenagers—previously thought to have been kidnapped—were found murdered in the West Bank. Israeli extremists retaliated by kidnapping Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian living in Jerusalem, and burning him alive. Also caught in the crossfire was Khdeir’s cousin, Tariq, a 15-year-old Palestinian-American who was beaten and incarcerated while in Jerusalem visiting relatives.

Daniel Rivero is a producer/reporter for Fusion who focuses on police and justice issues. He also skateboards, does a bunch of arts related things on his off time, and likes Cuban coffee.