In the middle of an interview with Sky News, spokesman for the Israeli government, Eylon Levy, suddenly disappeared. He did so as he received a sudden call to evacuate the premises through his earpiece.
Notified that he and the rest of Israel was currently in the middle of a rocket siren, Levy unhooked his broadcast equipment and fled for cover but not without explaining, “I’m afraid we’re in the middle of a rocket siren now,” he said, according to X.
He continued, “I have to evacuate the studio. My apologies.” Before you knew it, he was gone.
🚨Just telling @SkyNews that Israel will destroy Hamas so it can no longer harm our citizens, when suddenly a rocket siren forced me to evacuate the studio.
We will tolerate this terrorist threat no longer. pic.twitter.com/UVcEwbp7ai
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) October 16, 2023
This state of high alert is Israel’s reality today, and it may just be the United States’ tomorrow. As news moves so quickly, I’m not surprised to see the shift within the media away from the actual continued attack on Gaza and toward what Israel is planning on doing there, ultimately. Speculation and staying ahead of the rest is part of the business of news.
The industry is a game of ratings and revenue. Staying ahead of the pack is imperative.
Nothing about the present state of Gaza is a game for Israel, however. The bombing and destruction continues. And now Hezbollah has decided to join in the action, coming to the aid of Hamas.
Hezbollah’s presence escalates the intensity of this war across the world as onlookers gauge the gravity and impact of the mess that took root on Oct. 7. It may seem like ages since “1,500 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea, killing over 1,300 people and seizing 150-200 hostages of all ages under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities,” according to The Times of Israel.
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It’s not. It’s barely yesterday.
A little over a week has elapsed and the conflict is becoming more violent and dangerous.
Iran isn’t silent in its support of the terror group. At the same time, neither is the United States in its support of Israel, as we send a second carrier strike group, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, to join the first, the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, in the eastern Mediterranean.
As the next phase of this war brews, forcing eyeballs to turn in that direction from the media, the Israelites living within two kilometers of the Lebanese border are enduring rocket and missile attacks from Hezbollah, Hamaz, and Palestinian sympathizers.
According to the IDF and Defense Ministry, 28 communities must now move to state-funded guest houses for safety, according to the Times of Israel.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari has issued a stark warning to Hezbollah to refrain from further terrorist actions or risk a deadly response.
He said, “Hezbollah carried out a number of attacks yesterday in order to try to divert our operational efforts [away from the Gaza Strip], under the direction and backing of Iran, while endangering the state of Lebanon and its citizens,” according to The Times of Israel. Hagari noted the increased forces at the northern border.
He doubled down with the threat of expanded action. Then he waved the American flag in the enemies’ faces. Having already launched six anti-tank guided missiles at an Israeli town located on the border of Lebanon, killing one civilian and one soldier, Israel is attempting to keep Hezbollah from increasing efforts and casualties.
That effort couldn’t have been more evident through Levy’s reaction during an interview with Sky News. The people of Gaza continue to live a nightmare.
As journalists, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to disconnect from that very real fact. In moving so fast to the next step in understanding Israel’s intentions in Gaza, we can’t disconnect from the pain and fear that is happening today.
We need to remain “human” in our journalism because we aren’t just chronicling events. We are sharing people’s stories, in this case Israelites’ and Israel’s overall.
Their fate directly impacts our own. We will want that same deference if we find their reality on our doorstep or inside our own borders.
