Spokesman for Palestinian Islamic Jihad reveals terrorist organization's propaganda playbook during interrogation

A spokesman for Gaza's Palestinian Islamic Jihad group — the second-largest terrorist organization in the region — shared important information during an eight-minute interrogation by Israel's military intelligence.

Tariq Salami Otha Abu Shlouf, who was arrested at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City last month, confessed that the U.S.-designated terrorist organization uses Arabic and international media to manipulate the narrative about what is going on in the Gaza Strip, according to Fox News Digital.

Shlouf also said terrorists have used virtually all of Gaza's hospitals and many of its ambulances during its ongoing fight with the Jewish state. At one point during the interrogation, the spokesman said one explosion that hit Gaza's main hospital was due to a misfired PIJ rocket, not by Israel, as many international outlets claimed, per the report.

Shlouf said the terrorist organization's leadership "fabricated the story about an Israeli strike on the hospital" as a way to eliminate the group's involvement in the tragic incident. The explosion killed more than 100 people, according to U.S. intelligence.

The spokesman went on to mention that "[i]t is true that the story is false, but we wanted to promote it," adding that the group's communication wing made various decisions about "certain interests" and "to leverage a certain narrative," according to what was revealed during the interrogation.

Shlouf continued: "We relied on the stories in the international press."

Fox News Digital reported that Simon Plosker — the editorial director at Honest Reporting, an Israeli organization that monitors Israel's coverage in the international media — said "[m]ost international media will undoubtedly not even mention the revelations of this Islamic Jihad spokesperson in their reporting."

"If they did mention it, then they would have to call into question their entire coverage of the conflict, which would highlight how the foreign press has either been manipulated or even willingly participated in a sophisticated terrorist propaganda operation at Israel’s expense."

As the conflict continues in the Middle East, Israel may be bracing for an attack by Iran.

President Joe Biden was reportedly asked on Friday how likely it is that Israel will be attacked by Iran after Israel's airstrike on Iran's Damascus consulate in Syria. The report mentioned that Iranian officials have publicly announced that they plan to attack Israel following the airstrike.

"I don't want to get into secure information, but my expectation [is] sooner than later," Biden said.

"We are devoted to the defense of Israel," he added. "We will support Israel. We will defend, help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed."

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