Israel has allocated an additional $150 million to its 2025 propaganda budget in an effort to reshape global opinion over its genocide in Gaza, according to the Knesset.
The 20-fold funding increase aims to boost Tel Aviv’s narrative and justification of its war against the besieged enclave while portraying the Palestinian struggle as “anti-Semitic” and as a form of “Nazi” terrorism aimed at eliminating Jews and to promote Islamophobia in European countries in an effort to paint the Palestinian struggle as no different from Daesh.
The aim of such action is to end sympathy or support for the Palestinian cause and justify the genocide being orchestrated in Gaza.
Commenting on the increase, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar claimed “Israeli propaganda efforts and the war of consciousness have not received the critical and life-saving resources and tools they require for decades.”
“I am determined to make a change. Every shekel allocated to this cause is an investment, not an expense, and it will strengthen Israel and its standing in the world,” he added.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people in the besieged territory, mostly innocent women and children, according to the Health Ministry.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that a delegation from the country’s intelligence services and military would continue negotiations in Qatar toward a cease-fire, although these discussions have stalled repeatedly over the past year.
No comment was immediately made by Hamas.
Meanwhile, American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have spent months attempting to secure a cease-fire and hostage release, with little success.
In addition to the Gaza strikes, Israel took responsibility for a raid in western Syria last September that destroyed what it said was an Iranian-led missile factory.
On Friday, Israeli airstrikes continued, targeting multiple homes across Gaza.
Among the victims were four Palestinians killed in an airstrike on a house and nearby tent west of Deir al-Balah, and three Palestinians, including a journalist, were killed when a drone struck a house in the al-Sawarha area.
