Israel engineered 'special' rats to attack Palestinians in Gaza, radical Fatah officials claim
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
TLDR
- Palestinian officials in Gaza have accused Israel of weaponizing trained rats to attack Palestinian children, labeling it a conspiracy theory.
- Fatah officials claim Israel introduced a special, large breed of rats into uninfested areas of Gaza, which allegedly target children and the sick.
- This accusation is the latest in a series of animal-related conspiracy theories directed against Israel, with past claims involving dolphins and sharks.
In a disturbing turn of events, radical Fatah officials in Gaza have leveled extraordinary accusations against Israel, claiming the IDF has engineered and deployed trained rats to attack Palestinian children. This bizarre allegation, reported by Palestinian Media Watch, paints a picture of Israel engaging in nefarious biological warfare using rodents, a claim dismissed by many as baseless conspiracy theorizing.
Jamal Obeid, a member of Fatah's Supreme Leadership Body in Gaza, asserted that Israel deliberately introduced a "special kind" of large rat into areas previously free of them, alleging these creatures specifically target vulnerable populations like children and the sick. Such claims, amplified by Fatah-aligned media, tap into a long history of anti-Israel propaganda that often employs outlandish narratives involving animals.
There are rodents in some areas of the Gaza Strip... that were not known here in the Strip. It seems that the Israeli occupation deliberately acted to introduce these rodents into the Gaza Strip. This is a fact and not just media propaganda.
These accusations are particularly egregious given the real and pressing humanitarian concerns in Gaza, including widespread rodent infestations and skin infections, as noted by the World Health Organization. Instead of addressing these tangible issues, some Palestinian factions resort to fabricating elaborate plots. The Jerusalem Post has previously reported on similar conspiracy theories, including claims of Israeli-controlled dolphins spying on Hamas and Mossad-orchestrated shark attacks. These recurring narratives highlight a pattern of deflecting from genuine problems by inventing external enemies and attributing malicious intent to Israel, a tactic that hinders constructive dialogue and resolution.
All indicators point to there being a type of rodent โ rats and mice, to be precise. These rodents - mice and rats - are of a special kind, they are large in size, and they particularly attack children and the sick... It is believed that these rodents were developed and experimented on specifically by the Israeli occupation.
Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.