With less than two weeks remaining before his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his warning that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the captives held by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip are not returned before Trump is sworn in. He added that failure to do so “will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.”

Here are the propaganda leaflets Israel is currently dropping over Gaza
The messages consist of crude warnings, threats and appeals to turn against Hamas and collaborate with Israel.

Trump has not elaborated on what exactly he is threatening, but several of his nominees for key cabinet positions and U.S. ambassador to Israel are advocates of a total war of annihilation against the Palestinians of both Gaza and the West Bank. Some of them have said there is no such thing as a Palestinian.

Over the past several weeks, international mediators from Egypt and Qatar have been meeting with Hamas, U.S., and Israeli officials in an effort to reach some form of an agreement on an exchange of captives and a cessation of Israel’s attacks against Gaza. While the U.S. and Israel have accused Hamas of hindering a deal, there is a well documented, yearlong pattern of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acting as the central saboteur of a ceasefire.

In a statement to Drop Site News, a senior Hamas official directly appealed to Trump. “We believe we can reach an agreement immediately if Netanyahu and his government stop their stalling and obstructing the deal,” the official said. “We are ready to proceed with an agreement immediately that guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced people to their homes without restrictions, a serious prisoner exchange deal from both sides, and the immediate launch of a comprehensive relief and reconstruction process for Gaza. Therefore, we look forward to President Trump and his team exerting pressure on Netanyahu and his government to move forward with the deal before his inauguration.”

As diplomatic efforts continue, Israel is continuing to pummel Gaza, killing at least 383 Palestinians in the first week of 2025 alone and injuring hundreds more, according to ministry of health figures. Along with the missiles and bombs Israel rains down from the air, it is also dropping thousands of leaflets on Palestinians in Gaza in a ramped up campaign of psychological warfare.

Drop Site reviewed some of these leaflets to examine Israel’s ongoing propaganda campaign amid its unrelenting genocidal assault.

The Israeli military is ramping up its campaign of propaganda and psychological warfare against the Palestinians of Gaza, expanding its drops of leaflets across the Strip. The messages are mostly crude warnings, threats or appeals to turn against Hamas and inform on its members and to encourage local residents to collaborate with Israel.

The practice is not new — Israel has dropped leaflets over Gaza in previous wars — but amidst an ongoing genocidal assault which has stretched into 2025, there has been a recent surge of leaflets being deployed via drones or quadcopters over the so-called humanitarian safe zone in central Gaza and Khan Younis over the past several weeks in what appears to be a stepped up effort to stoke popular anger against Hamas and sow further disorder.

Here are some examples:

On January 7, Israel dropped leaflets over Khan Younis depicting Hamas’ accidental killing last September of Islam Hijazi, an employee of HEAL, a Palestinian medical NGO. The leaflet included a verse from Surat Al-Nesaa in the Qur’an that encourages the fair treatment of women.

One day earlier, Israeli jets flying over Khan Younis dropped leaflets with the message: “Hamas has destroyed Gaza. It’s your turn to rebuild it” alongside a picture of smoke rising over a devastated urban landscape forming the year “2025.”

In recent weeks, Israel has been dropping a leaflet over a number of towns including al-Magahazi, Beit Hanoon, and Khan Younis with an idiomatic expression in Arabic that translates to “those who can’t take on the strong, pummel the weak,” alongside a photo of Hamas members beating bound and hooded civilians.

Similar leaflets were dropped over Jabaliya and Beit Lahia a few weeks earlier. These included stills from a security camera video showing a man being tortured along with a QR code for the video. The caption reads: “Hamas has repressed you for years, people of Gaza, it’s time for revenge.” It calls on residents to come forward with any information about the perpetrators in the video, providing contact information for the Israeli military on Telegram and WhatsApp.

In November, similar pamphlets with pictures of several alleged Hamas members rained down over Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, threatening residents that if the men remained at large, their neighborhoods and future would be destroyed.

In Hamad City in Khan Younis, people picked up leaflets in July that cited a saying by the Prophet Muhammed. The text read:

Gaza above the ground and Gaza beneath the ground. O people of Gaza above the ground in general and people of Khan Yunis in particular: How long will you put your lives, your children's lives, and the apples of your eyes in danger and put yourselves in the hands of the Hamas oppressors who misled and deceived you?

The fish stinks from the top as they say. While Hamas leaders live a life of luxury far from the destroyed Khan Younis, the people of Gaza are suffering under the weight of hardship and are suffering from extreme poverty and hunger. Where are you, Fighters of the Qassam Brigades? While pretending to be heroes on the ground, you hide like rats in underground tunnels. Where are you, Yahya Sinwar? Hiding like a fish in the depths of the sea, and you know that if you come out of the water, you'd be killed. Where are you, Muhammad al-Deif? You promised the flood of Al-Aqsa, but the situation was reversed and became the flood of Khan Yunis.

O people of Khan Yunis, take your destiny into your own hands and appoint a just and honest imam who will save Gaza from the hyenas and put your interests and the interests of your children before your eyes. Everyone knows that Hamas has lost its legitimacy and sacrificed the fate and future of the people of Gaza. The Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him, was asked which jihad is best. He said, “A word of truth in the presence of an unjust ruler.”

The campaign of psychological warfare has been going for months. In April and May, the Israeli military dropped leaflets dropped over Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah with the names and pictures of Israeli captives held in Gaza, warning residents that if they want to protect their “families and future” they should come forward with information on the location of the captives or who was holding them.

Amid the suffocating blockade, which has led to widespread starvation and hunger, basic goods have become valuable commodities, including items like cigarettes. In April, Israel dropped packs of cigarettes over Gaza with leaflets declaring, “Smoking is dangerous, but Hamas is more dangerous” with a photo depicting slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an animal with large ears. Next to it is the caption “Hamas is burning Gaza. Want more?” atop a phone number to call.

Israel has also produced tabloid-style newspapers that it has dropped across Gaza. One was titled “Reality” with the main headline: “Take notice: This newspaper is where you read only the truth.” Sinwar’s face is plastered next to photos of bundles of cash with the slogan: "Is Sinwar's children's future more significant than yours?" It included sections that look like advertisements saying: "You can help bring about a ceasefire and preserving life. Have you seen any of the hostages?” atop phone numbers to call to provide information.

Waseem Afifa, a journalist and political analyst internally displaced in Gaza, told Drop Site News that while the strategy largely failed in the beginning of the war, the toll of 15 months of Israel’s genocidal assault has left people more desperate and vulnerable. “People are incited to oppose and loathe the resistance. Others sought information on certain locations in Gaza. In light of the challenges we are currently facing, this is quite possible through blackmail,” he said. “Israel controls two million hostages in Gaza. As a result, it appears simple to blackmail people and instigate conflict between them. Since they are the weakest members of the community, they target them like a gang.”

Dr. Ismail Al-Thwabta, the director of the Gaza Media Office, told Drop Site that the leaflets are aimed at eroding trust in civil authorities in Gaza.

"The Israelis seek, through these cheap propaganda methods, to divert attention from their crimes and daily violations of the rights of the Palestinian people and cover up their security failure,” he said, urging Palestinians to resist the Israeli propaganda. “We reaffirm that the Palestinian people will not waver in the face of the illegal occupation.”

* This report was compiled by a journalist in Gaza.

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