Propagandizing the Gaza Conflict in 140 Characters or less

The propaganda war in the Middle East is alive and well.  Aside from the Palestinian rockets and Israel's use of its military might, both sides are engaging in a battle for our hearts and minds using social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook.

The hashtag #GazaUnderAttack has been extensively used by those sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.  The posts consist of photos of injured children like this:

It also includes photos showing how Israel's military has falsified photos that justified bombing the el-Wafa Hospital:

Here is a tweet updating the number of Palestinians killed on July 23, 2014:

This tweet provides a link to a list of the victims of the Israeli assault along with an updated count of Palestine's dead:

This tweet provides a link to a 2011 video showing the reservations that some Israeli reservist soldiers have about "cleansing" Gaza:

On the other side of the conflict, we have Israel's #IsraelUnderFire as you can see on this screen capture:

Here is a tweet that shows Israel's side of the story regarding their attack on the el-Wafa Hospital:

Israel claims that they were being fired upon by the Palestinians from the hospital building.  They also state that there was a secondary explosion after the Israeli attack.

Israel is also using Twitter to announce to the world that the IDF is bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza while Hamas responds with rockets:

The Israelis are even working on the Shabbat to keep the situation in the Gaza from becoming a humanitarian disaster.

Israel even tweets about Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and how he has taken a stance that supports Israel, including a Canadian government pro-Israel propaganda video:

Unfortunately for Israel, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper represents only a fraction of Canadians who believe that Israel can do no wrong in any circumstance.

Israel also uses an Israel Under Fire Facebook page to reach out to the world.  One of the more interesting postings provides readers with an infographic video that justifies the current military operation, Protective Edge:

Post by Israel Under Fire.

According to Al Jazeera English, the hashtags #GazaUnderAttack has been used more than 4 million times compared to only 200,000 for #IsraelUnderFire.

Apparently, both sides in this conflict are quite willing to stoop to any level to propagandize the world, blurring the truth with their own versions of what is really happening in the region.  

As if the  Middle East waters weren't already muddy enough.