Is TikTok the new battleground for the Israel-Palestine conflict?
In the TikTok video, a little Gazan girl covered in ash asks for her mother. It’s one of millions of videos about the Israel-Hamas conflict gripping users on the social platform.
The heartbreaking stories and harrowing images pouring out of the conflict zone have set emotions boiling thousands of miles away on the streets of London – and turned social media into a battleground.
Millions of TikToks are uploaded every day giving differing perspectives on the Israel-Hamas war, as a new generation engages with this latest iteration of the long-running conflict. For many, it’s now a primary source of news.
The platform is known for short, snappy video clips that can gain colossal reach as they are shared and reshared.
“When anger is stirred up things tend to go viral much more quickly,” says Dr Christine Cheng, a senior lecturer in war studies at King’s College London.
In the US, Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley has even claimed that TikTok makes people “17% more antisemitic, more pro-Hamas” every 30 minutes – without any clear evidence to back it up.
Prominent UK TikTok creators – aligned on both sides of the conflict – say the platform offers an opportunity to promote conversation across the divide and highlight stories missed by mainstream media.
TikTok itself says it is “rapidly and robustly” responding to the Israel-Hamas war and has accelerated efforts to remove fake accounts and engagement.
Just looking at the numbers it would seem that TikTok’s content leans pro-Palestine, but the platform argues that this reflects wider trends on social media and among younger audiences generally.
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to London’s streets in support of Palestine
“Any time you have a strong emotional response you’re much more likely to engage,” Dr Cheng says. “Social media platforms love that and of course we then tend to spread it and provoke it even more.”
As a result, we end up with increased polarisation and it becomes difficult to have calm conversations, she says.
Short video clips about specific events in the conflict struggle to encapsulate all the relevant context, she adds. “It’s very easy to take that particular incident and then it goes viral, and then the conversation stops.”
Dr Martin Farr, senior lecturer in contemporary British history at Newcastle University, said people have seen things on their phones in the last few months that they will never forget and may shape their perspectives on the conflict.
“It’s been so extraordinary, the extent of the violence, the extent of the loss of life and the sense that people could have that one side is to blame rather than a more complicated and more necessarily nuanced appreciation of the situation,” he says.
“There’s an impulse in all these things to be more provocative.”
Dr Farr also pointed to what he calls the “deflating” of the Hamas attack on Israel as numbers of people killed in Gaza have soared.
Asked if social media has fuelled divisions over Israel-Palestine, he says: “I don’t think it’s necessarily exacerbated it, I think it has damaged understanding.”
Benny Greenstein asks people about Israel-Palestine. Pic: bennyjeeee
What do prominent UK TikTok creators say?
Unmissable with his distinctive short, colourful hair, 25-year-old Benny Greenstein has nearly 70,000 followers on TikTok and his “do you have to pick a side?” videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
From a Jewish family and raised in Manchester with lots of Muslim friends, Benny says his background gives him a well-rounded view on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“It’s just stuck in this toxic place and all we can do is promote peace and diplomacy.”
Many of his videos see him approaching people on the streets of London to talk about Israel-Palestine, asking them: Do you have to pick a side?
“Conversation and diplomacy is what gets you places. Rocket firing and antisemitism and islamophobia gets you nowhere.”
Some people in Benny’s TikToks are clear supporters of one side or another, while others are less sure or say there should be a humanitarian approach.
The comments are busy with users posting in support of Israel and Palestine or calling out “genocide”.
Benny says he is inspired by his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, and is determined to use his platform to promote peace and love.
Isobel Dye, 22, is currently studying for a master’s degree at LSE and has also been posting on TikTok for several years, amassing more than 164,000 followers.
Her interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict, in particular the plight of Palestinians, was sparked after she attended a pro-Palestine rally in 2021.
Isobel Dye says she reached one million people in a week on TikTok
“I try and speak about things not picked up by the mainstream media,” she says. “British people are deeply complicit [in the conflict], we can’t not have an opinion on this.”
Her TikToks usually feature news clips and stories with her speaking to the camera overlaid on top. In the last week she has reached around a million people, she says.
Isobel’s audience during that time was heavily female (80%), with 66% aged between 18 and 24. It’s a good example of TikTok’s reach with the younger demographic – just 28% of people aged 16-24 read newspapers in print or online, according to Ofcom.
Asked if TikTok is a good place for people engaging with the conflict, she says yes, so long as you have the right voices out there. “I try and centre Palestinian voices,” she adds.
A pro-Israel demonstration in London
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Debra Barnes, 59, is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who goes into UK schools to talk about antisemitism. In search of a new audience, she started posting TikToks about her family’s story too.
“I’m not exactly a TikTok prime audience,” she says. “My mission is to spread the stories of the Holocaust in the hope that it will educate people and something like that will never happen again.”
In the aftermath of the horrors of the Hamas attack on Israel, she started using TikTok to amplify calls for the safe return of the hostages.
“I feel like a tiny voice, David and Goliath almost… among this massive anti-Israel, antisemitic thing it has now grown into on social media,” she says.
“I don’t post about the conflict because there are so many people who are much more knowledgeable and do it much better than me… I’m just trying to do my bit to help the cause.”
TikTok has tried to explain how its algorithm works
Amid discussion about how it decides what content to show its users, TikTok published a lengthy blog post saying its recommendation algorithm does not take sides.
“The content people see on TikTok is generated by our community and recommendations are based on the content people have previously engaged with.
“TikTok does not ‘promote’ one side of an issue over another,” it said.
Videos are ranked using prediction scores based on what TikToks users have viewed and engaged with previously.
On the Israel-Hamas war specifically, TikTok said it is responding “rapidly and robustly” and has removed more than 925,000 videos for violating policies around things like violence and hate speech.
It added: “TikTok does not allow inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent.”
The platform said that between 7 October and 31 October it removed more than 50,000 videos that it said contained “harmful misinformation”.
While it might not be an app that’s popular with politicians – indeed it’s banned on UK government devices – it’s clear that TikTok is a huge part of the discussion about Israel and Palestine.
The attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing invasion of Gaza have energised a new generation to engage with the struggle for peace in the Middle East. And it’s places like TikTok where that conversation is happening.
Watch Crossing the Divide, a Sky News documentary looking at how the Israel-Hamas war has divided people in the UK, Saturday 23 December at 9pm.
Blindfolded and under armed guard, a captured ISIS fighter is brought before us.
When the blindfold is removed, he doesn’t look surprised to see a camera crew and several counterterrorism officers, one of whom interrogated him when he was first caught.
The 24-year-old militant is on death row in Somalia awaiting execution by firing squad, having been accused of being an ISIS commander, as well as a sniper and a member of a two-man bomb squad.
We’ve been given extremely rare access to speak to him and another ISIS recruit in a secure location in Puntland, the semi-autonomous region of northern Somalia where the terror group has been seizing territory and ruling over terrified communities.
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Watch the documentary – Hunting for ISIS: A warning from Africa
US and Somali commanders say ISIS is running its global headquarters in Puntland’s caves, financing its activities worldwide.
Muthar Hamid Qaayid is from Yemen and came to Somalia via a sea route where we’ve witnessed how challenging it is to halt the flow of militant travellers.
He insists he wasn’t an active participant in the two-man bomb squad – and seems entirely unbothered about the situation he now finds himself in.
“I didn’t press the button,” he says. “I just looked. The other man made the bomb and set it off. I didn’t come here to kill Muslims.”
His partner blew himself up as he was planting the bomb in Bosaso city centre and realised he had been discovered.
Officers believe he detonated it prematurely.
The man in front of us was injured, and we are told he had incriminating bomb-making equipment with him.
I ask him if he has regrets about his involvement and joining the militant group.
“I don’t regret anything,” he says, smiling. “Even if you take me out of the room now and execute me, I don’t regret anything.” Again, another smile.
“If they shoot me or hang me, I don’t mind. In the end, I don’t care.”
Tellingly, he says his family does not like ISIS. “If they found me here, they’d be upset,” he says.
Despite persistent questions, he doesn’t shift much. “I’m not thinking,” he insists. “There’s nothing. I’m just waiting for death.”
The ISIS militant speaks to Sky’s Alex Crawford
I ask if he’d heard of people being killed by the bombs he’s accused of planting.
“Yes, but they don’t kill all people,” he insists.
But what about killing anyone, I suggest, slightly puzzled.
“They don’t kill everyone,” he continues. There’s a pause. “Only infidels”.
Infidels is a term many recruits use to describe those who simply don’t agree with their strict interpretation of Sharia – that can include Muslims as well as other religions.
Officials show us multiple foreign passports recovered from ISIS cave hideouts in Puntland and from those they’ve captured or killed.
Passports seized from ISIS hideouts and fighters
There are passports for whole families from South Africa, including children, as well as ones from Germany, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Bahrain.
There are also handfuls of IDs which show European faces.
Since a Puntland army offensive was launched last December, just five of the 600 ISIS fighters killed have been Somalis, says Mohamed Abdirahman Dhabancad, Puntland’s political affairs representative.
‘The main target was to rule the world’
The second prisoner brought before us is from Morocco and is much more talkative.
Usman Bukukar Bin Fuad insists he was duped by ISIS and says he only travelled to Somalia because he’d heard he could make money.
Usman Bukukar Bin Fuad claims he only dug caves for ISIS
“Instead, I ended up digging caves,” he says. “It was difficult to escape but when they told me to put on a suicide vest to kill Puntland forces, I said this is not what you told me I would be doing – and I escaped.”
He says he was given a weapon but never used it – a claim not believed by his captors.
“I never joined any fight,” he insists. “I had my weapon [AK47] but I just did normal duties taking supplies from location to location and following orders.”
He says he met the ISIS leader in Somalia, Abdul Qadir Mumin, several times.
“He used to visit all the ISIS camps and encourage them to fight.”
“And he’d reassure us all about going to heaven,” he adds.
It seems to lend credence to the belief that Mumin is still alive and operating – up until a few months ago anyway.
He says he was given training in sniping (which he didn’t finish) and map reading, which was interrupted when the Puntland military offensive began.
He says he travelled over from Ethiopia with six Moroccans, before meeting an Algerian recruit.
Fellow militants in the ISIS mountain stronghold were from countries including Tunisia, Libya, Tanzania, Kenya, Turkey, Argentina, Bangladesh, Sweden, and Iraq.
“The main target or focus was to rule the world,” he says. “Starting with this region as one of the gates to the world, then Ethiopia and the rest of the world.
“I heard so much talk about sending ISIS fighters to Bosaso, Ethiopia or Yemen. Sending people to other parts of the world and ruling the world was all part of the plan.”
The captives’ information has added to the belief that Puntland and Somalia is just the tip of a huge ISIS problem which is spreading and is able to cause terror in a range of ways.
Alex Crawford reports from Somalia with specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Richie Mockler. Photography by Chris Cunningham
Israel has said it has begun the first stages of its takeover of Gaza City – as the UK condemned the approval of plans for a new West Bank settlement.
Brigadier General Effie Defrin, Israel’s military spokesperson, said on Wednesday that “IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City” after preliminary operations to take the entire area.
An estimated 60,000 reserve soldiers have also been called up to help seize Gaza’s biggest urban centre, but will not report for duty until September, according to a military official.
Israeli troops are already operating in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, and the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet approved the plans last month, which include an eventual full security takeover of all of Gaza, despite growing international criticism that it will likely lead to the displacement of many more Palestinians.
He is said to have sped up the timeline for taking control of Hamas strongholds after both sides clashed near Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, on Wednesday.
Israel claims it will help any civilians evacuate before any assault begins.
Smoke rises in Gaza City after Israeli strikes. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Ceasefire proposal being considered
Israeli officials said they are also considering a new ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatar and Egypt.
The deal, which involves a 60-day ceasefire and the release of some of the remaining Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, has already been accepted by Hamas.
Thousands of Israeli civilians have called for the government to accept a ceasefire and reverse its decision to take over Gaza City, but Mr Netanyahu is thought to be under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject the deal and continue to pursue the annexation of the territory.
Relatives and supporters of hostages held by Hamas protest in Israel. Pic: AP
West Bank settlement plan approved
One of those is Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, who announced on Wednesday that a controversial plan for a settlement project in the occupied West Bank had been approved after they received the final go-ahead from Israel’s higher planning committee.
Mr Smotrich, an ultranationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition, said in a statement that the government was delivering with the settlement what it had promised for years: “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions.”
He said last week that the settlement would “finally bury the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise”.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich shows the planned settlement on a map. Pic: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
‘A stake through the heart of two-state solution’
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned the plan, saying it “would divide a Palestinian state in two”.
In a post on the X social media platform, Mr Lammy called the settlement in the West Bank “a flagrant breach of international law”, which “critically undermines the two-state solution”, and urged the Israeli government to reverse the decision.
The UN also condemned the decision, with spokesperson Stephane Dujarric saying that it “will drive a stake through the heart of the two-state solution”.
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David Lammy called the new West Bank settlement “a flagrant breach of international law”. File pic: Reuters
Where is the settlement?
The settlement is set to be built in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, and includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the existing settlement of Maale Adumim.
E1 has been eyed for Israeli development for more than two decades, but plans were halted due to pressure from the US during previous administrations.
A two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict would see a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza existing side by side with Israel.
A view of part of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim. Pic: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
Today, an estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. There is also a growing movement of Israelis wanting to build settlements in Gaza.
Settlers make up around 5% of Israel’s population and 15% of the West Bank’s population, according to data from Peace Now.
Settlements are illegal under international law and have been condemned by the UN. They are, however, authorised by the Israeli government.
The family of a father who disappeared with his three children nearly four years ago in New Zealand have broken their silence to appeal for him to return home.
In December 2021, Tom Phillips vanished into the wilderness with his two daughters and son – but his family have said they still remain hopeful “today will be the day you all come home”.
Phillips, along with Jayda, now aged 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, nine, were last believed to have been seen in a “credible sighting” last October hiking through a bush area near Marokopa on the country’s North Island.
For the first time, his family have directly appealed to Phillips in the hope that “just maybe, he’s going to see this” and “that we are here for him”.
In an interview with New Zealand journalist Paddy Gower, his sister Rozzi Phillips said she missed being part of her brother’s life, adding “I really want to see you” and “you’re very special to me”.
She also read out a handwritten message from Phillips’ mother, Julia, which came from her “heart, just to her son”.
“Tom, I feel really sad that you thought you had to do this, not considering how much we love you and could support you,” she said.
“It hurts every time I see photos of the children and of you and see some of your stuff that is still here, thinking what could have been if you’d not gone away.”
Tom Phillips. Pic: New Zealand Police
According to New Zealand news site, Stuff, the letter ended with a message for the three children.
“We love you so much and really miss being part of your lives,” it read.
“Every day we wake up and hope that today will be the day you all come home.”
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Ms Phillips said her brother is a skilled builder and would have constructed a shelter.
Police believe his actions could be linked to a custody battle.
There have been numerous reported sightings since December 2021.
The most recent last October was said to be from a distance when the group were seen wearing camouflage gear and carrying large camping backpacks.
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