Welcome to +972’s Sunday Recap! 

The Israeli military has operated a special unit called the “Legitimization Cell,” tasked with gathering intelligence from Gaza that can bolster Israel’s image in the international media, Yuval Abraham revealed in a joint investigation with Local Call. In particular, the secretive intelligence squad has been assigned to identify Gaza-based journalists it could portray as undercover Hamas operatives, in an effort to blunt growing global outrage over Israel’s killing of reporters.

Ahmed Ahmed and Ibtisam Mahdi reported from Gaza, where Israel has only allowed a trickle of food to enter in recent weeks. With chaotic aid airdrops, Israel’s engineered starvation has entered a new phase, and Gazans describe risking their lives for a sack of flour or moldy bread.

Israeli universities regularly collaborate with the military, which has destroyed all academic life in Gaza. But as Dikla Taylor-Sheinman and Georgia Gee wrote, that’s done nothing to slow U.S.-Israeli partnerships — in fact, after crushing dissent on campus, U.S. universities are deepening their ties with Israeli academia.

And Muhammad Shehada wrote about Israel’s tried-and-true tactic to smear Palestinian journalists, including Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al-Sharif: labeling them as Hamas operatives in disguise. Ahead of the planned invasion of Gaza City, killing Al-Sharif is the latest step in Israel’s campaign to erase Gaza’s witnesses and prevent accountability.

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