GRG Terrorism and Counter Terrorism Update 3

Welcome to edition 3 of the Gorstra Research Group Terrorism and Counter Terrorism Newsletter. This week we focus on developments in Gaza, taking a broad look at the situation as well as focusing on the importance of social media and misinformation on the conflict.

Israel-Gaza: 8000 Palestinians Reportedly Dead as ‘Phase 2’ of Israeli War Plan Underway

Phase 2 of Israel’s war plan is now underway as troops and armor have entered the Gaza strip amidst heavy Israeli air bombardment. Forces have entered from the North and East of the strip with images of battle tanks in Gaza’s western coast suggest an attempt by Israel to surround Gaza city. Hamas said its Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades were already “engaged in heavy fighting … with the invading occupation forces.” This phase of combat has been kept largely out of public view, forces moving under darkness, a telecommunications blackout cutting off Palestinians, and the controversial blocking of pro-Palestine social media accounts all contributing. Although phone blackouts appeared to ease on Sunday, airstrikes in the North of the strip have knocked out internet and phone services for the region, making rescue operations especially difficult. As this goes on, attempts to deliver aid have been struggling, only 33 supply trucks with food, water and medicine entering on Sunday despite the UN stating they required at least 40 trucks a day to meet growing food needs alone. As of 30/10/2023, the Palestinian death toll has passed 8000 whilst the Israeli toll sits at around 1,400. An estimated 1.4 million people in Gaza are internally displaced.

U.S.A: Struggles to respond to the spreading of misinformation over the Israel-Hamas conflict on social media platforms

In the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, false information is spreading like wildfire on social media platforms such as X, TikTok, YouTube, and Telegram. U.S. officials have called on online platforms to combat the spread of falsehoods but they do not have the tools to force any change. One reason U.S. officials are hamstrung is Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from liability over most of the content they disseminate. The EU Commission is enforcing its Digital Service Act (DSA) to reduce the risk of spreading and amplifying terrorist and violent content, hate speech, and misinformation.?

Belgium: Two Swedish Football Fans Shot in Brussels

On the 16th of October, Abdesalem Lassoued, a 45-year-old Tunisian national, opened fire on the Boulevard d’Ypres near Brussels’ city center. Two Swedish football fans on their way to a football match were killed and another person was injured. After the attack, the gunman fled the scene. He proceeded to post a video on TikTok claiming responsibility on behalf of IS and indicating that the Swedish identity of the victims was a motivating factor. Later, the IS output Amaq News Agency confirmed their responsibility for the attack. The next day, Lassoued was shot in a cafe by Belgian police. In 2005, Lassoued was sentenced in Tunisia for multiple crimes including two attempted murders but in 2011 he escaped prison and traveled to Lampedusa, an Italian island. By 2016 he had been flagged by Italian intelligence for his radical ideas. During this time, he had traveled to Sweden under an alias, and in 2012 he was subsequently arrested for drug trafficking in Malmo and Gothenburg. In the next few years, he unsuccessfully applied for asylum in Norway, Sweden and Italy. In 2020 his application for asylum was rejected by Belgium where he continued to remain illegally.

This weeks edition was written and edited by Claudia Concha, Joe Earnshaw, Jennifer Young.