In an appearance on CNN’s OutFront (video embedded below), Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer offered a strong response to questions from host Erin Burnett about his reaction to the shelling of a United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Gaza.

First Dermer asserted that the casualties – whether they were caused by an Israeli shell or a Hamas rocket – were the fault of Hamas for placing weapons in and near UNRWA-run schools. Dermer also cited United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who condemned the guilty parties for “turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities, and anyone using the UN schools as shelter.” Dermer emphasized that this information was relevant to the media’s reporting of casualties. Dermer continued:

Well, I’ve been listening for two hours of reports on CNN. I have seen split screens, horrible pictures. Horrible pictures that any decent human being would be horrified by.

I have not heard a single person say what I just said to you now, and I think that that does a disservice to your viewers to not give them the context they need to make these judgments. Hamas is placing missile batteries in schools, in hospitals, in mosques, and there must be outrage by the world and Hamas to end this.

When Burnett asked Dermer why Israel fired in the area if it knew that children were in the facility, Dermer responded that she had no “basis” for making that assertion, continuing: “I’m blaming the media for not connecting the dots. The dots point to the responsibility of Hamas for using schools as weapons depots and caches for Hamas. It’s unacceptable, and the outrage of the world has to be turned on Hamas.”

Dermer’s predecessor, Michael Oren, made a similar observation yesterday in a column for Israel Hayom:

Intentionally or unknowingly, the international media has been cast in a leading role in Hamas’ horror screenplay. While journalists assume that they are helping the Palestinians by broadcasting their suffering and distress, they are really making them worse. They exempt Hamas from any accusation of using the population as a human shield and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for humanitarian aid to use to build bunkers for its leaders and dig tunnels whose only purpose is to murder innocent civilians. At the same time, Israel is expected to apologize for its defense systems and for not having civilian casualties. Rather than painting for the viewer the complicated picture in which both Israelis and Gazans are victims of the Hamas terror group, the media prefers a superficial discussion of East vs. West, colonialists vs. children, David vs. Goliath.

Beyond that, the most important role the foreign media is playing in Hamas’ strategy is to demoralize Israelis. Israel is prepared to pay a high operational price and even endanger Israeli soldiers to keep from harming innocent civilians in Gaza. However, Israel is portrayed by the media as the aggressor, without discrimination. In a situation like this, there are Israelis who will say “might as well go all in” — if they’re blaming us anyway, why make the effort and risk our soldiers? And Hamas, which has an interest to drag Israeli into a ground battle that will lead to more dead Palestinian civilians, welcomes the media’s role in convincing Israelis that as far as public image goes, they have nothing to lose by escalation. At the end of the day, not only Israel is harmed — the Gazans are also paying a heavy price.

[Photo: CNN / YouTube ]