Military Discourse during the Gaza War via Digital Platforms: A Comparative Analytical Study of Palestinian Resistance and Israeli Military Discourse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67732/jidmc.v1i2.1Keywords:
Digital military dis-course, Digital plat-forms, Gaza war 2023, Palestinian resistance, Israeli Military SpokespersonAbstract
This study aims to identify the nature of military-media discourse circulated on digital platforms during the Gaza war and its impact on international relations, through a comparative analytical study of the speeches of the Palestinian resistance spokesperson (Abu Ubeida) and the Israeli army spokesperson (Daniel Hagari). The study belongs to descriptive research and employs the survey method based on content analysis of a sample of 40 military speeches: 17 by the resistance spokesperson and 23 by the Israeli army spokesperson, from Oct. 7, 2023, to early January 2024. The study material was collected from statements available on Telegram and YouTube, which served as two principal platforms for disseminating military discourse and communicating directly with local and international audiences. The findings show that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza ranked first in the resistance discourse 76.4%, while the captives issue ranked first in the Israeli discourse 30.4%; the Israeli discourse relied on propaganda, disinformation, stereotyping and repetition with a clear absence of evidence, whereas evidence and logical and emotional appeals were consistently present in the resistance discourse. The role of religion was also clearly present in both discourses. The findings further showed that the digital environment broadened the circulation of both speakers’ messages and connected military communications to a battle of narratives directed at transnational audiences.
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