Mildly Infuriating

From Google Translate:

CHECK - Yes, an Israeli construction company posted "beach house in Gaza" ads online Advertisements from an Israeli property developer promoting construction plans in Gaza are going viral online. Many people doubt the authenticity of the images. But they are real. The construction company confirms to VRT NWS that it placed the campaign online, but states that it is "satire". At the same time, the company reports that it is in favor of the idea.

There has been a lot of commotion online in recent days about simulation images of possible construction projects in Gaza. In particular, it concerns an image with a sketch of houses in a row on top of the ruins of Gaza. In Hebrew it carries the following message: “A house on the beach is not a dream .”

Some posts with the images were shared more than 400,000 times. Many Internet users condemn the publication of images of Israeli construction projects in Gaza, which is now in ruins. Others ask whether these are real images. Our editorial staff also received that question. What do we know?

The advertisements with images of possible construction plans in Gaza were indeed made by the Israeli project developer Harey Zahav. The images were published on December 13 on both the company's Instagram page and Facebook page. They have not posted the images on their website for the time being.

There is also a caption in Hebrew below the photo. Translated it reads: “ We at Harey Zahav, are working to pave the way for a return to Gush Katif. A number of our employees went to work restoring the area, clearing debris and driving out intruders. We hope that in the near future all the people who were kidnapped will be returned safely to their homes, and our soldiers will return home and we will be able to start construction in the Gaza Strip, in the entire region of Gush Katif ."

As a reminder, Gush Katif was a block of Israeli settlements established in the Gaza Strip in the 1970s. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and removed Israeli settlers.

It is not the only image on the company's social media that talks about possible plans in Gaza. In another image, published on Instagram on December 11, we see names for the possible future settlements, such as Maale Atzmona or Neve Katif. They were marked on a map of the Gaza Strip.

Harey Zahav, the Israeli construction developer who until now has mainly specialized in the construction of homes in the settlements on the West Bank, admits in a response to VRT NWS that it published the images.

“We launched this campaign to increase awareness and discussion about the solution we consider right and sustainable,” said Zeev Epshtein, the company's owner, in a Dec. 18 email. "The campaign is of course not a real commercial campaign. It is a satire. It is up to the Israeli government to decide to return to Gaza. Until that decision is made, no real construction projects can start."

Speaking to Israeli media company Mako, Ephstein said the publication was "a cross between a joke and wishful thinking ". In addition to the images with possible construction plans, the Israeli company has also published many images on its social media since October 7 to highlight the efforts of the Israeli army.