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Israel's decision to expand its war in Gaza and take over the Strip's main city has been met with international condemnation. Aid groups and famine experts say that people are already starving in the territory, but Israelis largely reject that their war has led to a hunger crisis there. That is a line repeated by their government and the Israeli media. But as videos from Gaza flood international news sites, cracks are starting to show in the prevailing Israeli narrative. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley tells us more.
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ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: When it comes to starvation in Gaza, the viewpoint of Rafael Braun, a 62-year-old taxi driver in Tel Aviv, is representative of most Israelis, according to polls.
RAFAEL BRAUN: No, it's not the truth. You can see in the TV, we send a lot of food there, but, you know, the Hamas taking all the things that they can get for - with weapons.
BEARDSLEY: He asks, do you know any other nation that feeds the enemy it's fighting? That narrative is coming straight from the top. Here is IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin. He says Israel is not starving anyone, it is fighting vicious Hamas.
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EFFIE DEFRIN: Now they are using starvation as a tool of war against us. It's a strategic weapon in their hands. We have to understand that. It's not fun being in Gaza. We understand that. But we are doing our best, being creative, to distribute food to the people of Gaza.
BEARDSLEY: Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, consistently sticks to his hardline message.
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GIDEON SA'AR: We are witnessing a distorted campaign of international pressure against Israel over recent days. This campaign fuels the antisemitism wave we are witnessing.
BEARDSLEY: Israelis watching their TV won't see starvation either, says Gideon Levy, a prominent columnist with Haaretz newspaper. He says his outlet is the only Israeli media covering it, though its readership is tiny.
GIDEON LEVY: If you follow the Israeli TV or Israeli newspapers, you'll get to the conclusion that in the Gaza Strip, there are 20 people living. Those are the 20 hostages. Nothing but them. There is no one else there.
BEARDSLEY: But a growing number of Israelis are questioning that portrayal.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
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BEARDSLEY: A large demonstration in Tel Aviv last week was one of the first to focus on starvation in Gaza rather than the hostages. Giant photos of starving children bob in the crowd. Sixty-two-year-old Julia Resnik explains why it's so hard for Israelis to believe it.
JULIA RESNIK: They were raised believing we are good, we are moral - the most moral army in the world. And then you shoot people waiting for food. How does it go together? It doesn't, so they can't handle it. And so they prefer not to know. If I don't see it, it's not happening.
BEARDSLEY: There are others who believe there could be starvation, but say Israel has no choice.
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BEARDSLEY: On a busy corner across from the Knesset in Jerusalem, a tent is set up displaying the photos of soldiers killed in Gaza. But not all of them - just the sons of families urging the parliament to continue the war until total victory. Nama Ghon is a 25-year-old nursing student volunteering here.
NAMA GHON: Well, as you can see, we are at war and we have to take care of our people. We cannot take care of the people who wants us dead. It is all their fault.
DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN: Hello.
BEARDSLEY: Hi. How are you?
SCHEINDLIN: Fine. How are you?
BEARDSLEY: Dahlia Scheindlin is a public opinion researcher who also writes for newspaper Haaretz. She says Israelis have a reflexive defense mechanism that goes into gear when they're under attack. Take the photo of a starving child recently on the front page of the New York Times. He was found to have a pre-existing condition that made him more vulnerable to malnutrition, so the newspaper issued a clarification. She says that became the top story for two days.
SCHEINDLIN: Basically, using it to prove that there is no starvation in Gaza. Israelis are kind of reinforcing not only their belief that it's a lie, but also reinforcing their image of the global media as on a permanent mission to traduce Israel and blame Israel.
BEARDSLEY: She says Israelis can't move past the October 7 Hamas attack as long as hostages are still being held. In recent days, Israel's most famous living author, David Grossman, called what's happening in Gaza a genocide - something Israel's government vehemently denies.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Genocide. Genocide.
(Non-English language spoken).
BEARDSLEY: At the Tel Aviv rally, protesters are openly condemning what they call a genocide. Shelly Eliaz feels like things could be changing, but admits this crowd is seen as radical left betrayers by most Israelis. She says it's hard to fight the entrenched national narrative.
SHELLY ELIAZ: The narrative of us being victims, like Israelis are a victim always of terror.
BEARDSLEY: As Eliaz holds her photo of a starving child high, a few passersby spit at the protesters.
Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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