CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

 

News: https://www.europasur.es/mundo/israel-rompe-alto-fuego-franja_0_2003548861.html 

 

More than 300 dead in Gaza due to Israeli airstrikes breaking the truce.

Awad, A. (2025). Israel breaks the truce in Gaza, and its attacks cause hundreds of deaths [Photograph]. EFE. 

This news is about the resumption of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, in which the death toll increased to 326 people, according to the latest data provided by the Gaza  government, furthermore it explains that there is a difficult humanitarian situation due to the lack of fuel and other supplies, since Israel totally blocked the access of aid at the beginning of the month. The attack was carried out by the Israeli military as part of an operation to pressure Hamas, which has not released the hostages captured in the October 7, 2023, attack.

This new was published on march 18th, 2025 by EF.

The main actors involved are:

• Israel
• Hamas
• Gaza's civilian population, especially women and children, they are the principal victims of bombardment.
• International organizations such as the UN and the UNRWA.

Vocabulary and Word Choices

The vocabulary used in this news emphasizes the extreme conflict that civilian population are suffering currently. The article used words with a charged tone of violence and danger.

• Wave of death: Makes reference to massive and immeasurable deaths.
• Strong measures: In the article, it is used to show the severe actions taken by Israel's government, this word choices are said by Benjamín Netanyahu with an agressive and determined way.
• Unimaginable: This word has a very strong emotional charge and emphazises the magnitude of suffering and chaos caused by Israeli bombardments.
• Hostilities: The use of this word is to focuse on acts of violence, besides has a connotation of war and long confrontation. As a result the word hostilities intead of massacres or attacks can soften the violence of actions.
• Urgent: Highlights the gravity of the humanitarian crisis and appealing to global empathy and the necessity for immediate action.

How Groups are Represented?

Israel is represented through its government and military with a focus on minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Additionally Israel is presented as a legitimate actor responding to a threat from Hamas' group.

The minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes Hamas and its civilian population as a terrorist organization, this reflects a clear bias from the Israeli government's perspective. 

Gaza's civilian population is mainly represented as innocent victims on the conflict.

In the case of women and children, they are represented as the greatest victims because 70% of deceased were women and children, they are depicted as vulnerable people; on the other hand, the connotation could have a more general context, thus in most countries this population as represented in this way.

The international Community (including UN and UNRWA) are represented as a defender of peace and human rights.

Power Dynamics and Ideologies 

Responsibility and justification for the attack: The minister of Israel justifies the attack as an "energetic measure" against the terrorist organization Hamas meanwhile the power of Israeli government is presented as a legitimate response to Hamas's actions, which reflects an ideology that justifies violence just as a response trying to exempt them from guilt.

Structure and impact 

The news follows a traditional media format, beginning with the most relevant facts, then contextualizing the causes. This creates a strong inicial impact considering that the news tittle gives an introduction with the number of deaths caused by the bombardment.

The repetition of the death toll and the description of the damage can generate emotional effects on the public perception, it is kind of sensasionalist. However, the constant use of justifications from Israeli authorities can dilute the real responsability for the attacks, focusing more on Hamas's actions. This affects how the people perceives the real context of the situation.

Reflection

The way events are presented through the media has a significant impact on public opinion and therefore, on how we perceive the conflict. The media plays an important role in shaping the narrative around events, and the different actors involved in this news may be seen differently from how they actually are. As Chomsky and Herman (2002) point out, "the media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general population. Their role is to mediate information, but, more importantly, they serve the interests of powerful elites and are part of the system that sustains their control" (p. 1). For example, using terms like "terrorist" to describe Hamas can create a negative view, while the Israeli government can be seen as acting in legitimate self-defense. In my opinion, the connection between public opinion and different perspectives is crucial to understanding how the conflict in Gaza truly develops. As consumers, we need to analyze what is fair or unfair and the different interpretations of the facts. In what I consider an ego war, the real victims are the civilian population of Gaza, while the large elites are responsible for fueling the conflict, where the suffering of innocent people is pushed aside by larger interests.

References

Chomsky, N., & Herman, E. S. (2002). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media (p. 1). Pantheon Books. 

https://www.europasur.es/mundo/israel-rompe-alto-fuego-franja_0_2003548861.html