October 29, 2023 – Zoran Marinović, arguably Croatia’s best-known and most accomplished war photographer, has just returned from Israel. He gave an interview on N1 on Friday night.
War photojournalist after his stay in Israel: Who can prevent the tragedy in Gaza and does not do it, is a hypocrite
Croatian war photojournalist Zoran Marinović returned from Israel and spoke on N1 Newsnight about everything he experienced during those days of intense conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“I was in more or less all the areas where there were conflicts, except Gaza, of course. I was in Tel Aviv yesterday and there was an attack, Hamas fired more than 20 rockets, but the dome solved everything. I wouldn’t say it’s like fireworks, but it’s nice to see how the rocket flies and how it explodes,” Marinović said, looking back on life in that city while the air raid continues:
“Israel is a militant state, everyone joins the army and is ready for something like this. People go to shelters, wait for the dome to do its thing and come back as if nothing happened. But the real tragedy is happening in Gaza today. Israel, it seems to me, shed its blood in the kibbutzim at the beginning.”
Namely, Hamas played on the “surprise factor” and succeeded in its bloody plan, which was followed by revenge and there is still no end in sight. Especially since the land offensive is expected, which could be the most difficult in terms of human casualties.
“Slowly the victims in Israel are being buried, they are slowly disappearing and Israel is turning into a real predator. Freedom of the press is less and less in military areas. In any case, it is clear that journalists are not allowed to go where they want and do what they want, that’s what everyone does. It is impossible to get to Gaza, for example, by any means,” Marinović comments, then talks about what he has heard and experienced firsthand about the West’s attitudes towards Gaza:
“Attitudes are a classic, hypocritical and fan-like. Truths are never so simple, so nothing can be said lightly, but a certain attitude is expected from journalists. Of course, if we speak objectively, we can say that what is happening in Gaza is a tragedy. Anyone who can prevent this and does not do so is a hypocrite and that is unacceptable. That this can happen today and that the whole world does not have the strength to stop it… Israel was given a wonderful opportunity, which it used in a brutal way. I cannot say that Hamas is good because it is not, they are not freedom fighters when they kill children in cold blood, but the Palestinians are not Hamas. I have spoken to at least ten Palestinians who are desperate and outraged by what Hamas has done.”
He also emphasized that the Israelis are aware that these actions will create a new Hamas because if you kill someone’s father, there is a great chance that his children will go to war.
“It’s a cycle that repeats itself and I can’t believe that it’s happening,” claims Marinović, giving an impression of a potential land offensive:
“I’m not an analyst, so I don’t know, but my impression is that Israel will not go on the offensive. Although he is ready to go to war with all his neighbors, but Gaza is too big a bite. It’s an urban area and exactly what could happen to the Americans in Mogadishu, only Gaza could be Mogadishu on steroids. It would be too much for the Israeli political elite, and I don’t know how much they could bear if hundreds of soldiers were coming from Gaza in boxes every day.”
He believes that offensive announcements are just threats.
“The short-term entry of tanks into Gaza was a test of the terrain and a threat. They are constantly threatening, feeling power at the moment because of the powerful partner they have and mocking the international community. This amount of destruction and punishment of an entire nation is not acceptable in common sense. Israel does not care. I was at a demonstration in Jerusalem and the Israeli police shoot the demonstrators with live bullets, they are ready to shoot ten-year-old kids. The brutality of the Israeli army and police is beyond the limits of humanity,” concluded Zoran Marinović.
