Addressing the disorder in Los Angeles on social media, the Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz pushed the claim that the synagogue was hosting “a sale of Palestinian land,” and therefore what transpired should be understood as a political protest rather than an assault on a house of worship. This claim is true only if one considers every inch of Israel “Palestinian land.” Such misleading or mendacious statements about Israel have become de rigueur on the pages of the Washington Post, which has distinguished itself even among other America media outlets in its willingness to publish slanders of the Jewish state.

There are many reasons why this is so, but one points back to Qatar and its malign influence. Joseph Simonson writes:

At least six members of the Post’s foreign desk previously wrote for Al Jazeera, the Doha-based news outlet bankrolled in part by the government of Qatar, which is now sheltering Hamas’s top leaders. . . . They include the paper’s Middle East editor, Jesse Mesner-Hage, who spent more than a decade as an editor at the outlet’s English edition [and] the London correspondent Louisa Loveluck.

Just over a month after the October 7 terrorist attacks, the Post ran an A1 story titled, “Israel’s war with Hamas separates Palestinian babies from their mothers.” The story was rife with inaccuracies and misrepresentations. . . . A subsequent 230-word editor’s note attached to the piece said its reports “fell short of the Post’s standards for fairness.”

Loveluck’s is the lead byline on that report. Aside from her work with Al Jazeera, she previously worked as the Post’s Baghdad bureau chief. Loveluck’s work with Al Jazeera is omitted from her biography on the Post’s website.

Between December 27 and January 6, terrorists in Gaza fired rockets at Israel almost every night. On Monday, one rocket struck a home in the much-bombarded town of Sderot, although no one was injured. The rocket fire had largely halted last spring, and for some time barrages were often the result of Israeli forces closing in a Hamas unit or munitions depot. But the truth—which gives credence to Ran Baratz’s argument in his January essay that the IDF is struggling to accomplish its mission—is that Hamas has been able to rebuild. Yoni Ben Menachem writes that the jihadist group has been “producing hundreds of new rockets using lathes smuggled into tunnels that remain operational in Gaza.” Moreover, it has been replenishing its ranks:

According to Israeli security officials, Hamas has recruited approximately 4,000 new fighters over the past month. This rapid expansion bolsters its fighting capabilities and complicates Israel’s efforts to apply military pressure on Hamas to expedite a hostage deal. Hamas’s military recovery has allowed it to prolong its war of attrition against the IDF and adopt tougher stances in hostage negotiations. The funds for this recruitment effort are reportedly from the sale of humanitarian-aid packages, which Hamas forcibly seizes and resells in Gaza’s markets.

In fact, Ben Menachem writes, Hamas’s rocket fire is part of the same strategy:

By firing rockets, Hamas seeks to demonstrate its resilience and operational capability despite the IDF’s prolonged offensive. This message is aimed at both Gaza’s residents and the Israeli public, underscoring that Hamas remains a significant force even after enduring heavy losses [and] that Israel cannot easily occupy this region, currently a focal point of IDF operations.