This is what the Israeli army wants you to believe about its current conflict with Hamas

In this two-part story, GlobalPost explains how the Israel Defense Forces (@IDFSpokesperson) and Hamas (@qassamfeed) present the ongoing conflict via Twitter. 

Read Part 1: This is what Hamas wants you to believe about its current conflict with Israel

Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted violently again eight days ago, 192 Palestinians in Gaza have died and 1,400 have been injured. Three-quarters of the dead were non-combatants. A quarter were children. Four Israelis have been seriously injured, and one has died.

While their rockets fly in the air, Hamas and the IDF are also battling in the cloud. Both groups are savvy social media operators with active Twitter and Facebook pages, and they are using their English-language feeds to wage the important battle for hearts and minds around the world.

Here's how things look from the IDF's end. They have a few things they want you to believe, some of them true, some of them not true.
 

1. They want you to believe they really are under attack.

This is the main message for non-Israelis: Yes, we know you're seeing photos of dead Palestinian children and destroyed homes in Gaza, but it's all justified.

The IDF has some crack graphic designers churning out posters and infographics to convince you.

They have a rocket counter, for convenience and shareability.

2. They want you to believe that Israelis are living in terror.

3. They want you to believe that they are responding forcefully, precisely, and successfully.

There's a daily recap — again, for convenience and shareability.

4. They want you to believe that they are limiting civilian casualties, but sometimes have no choice.

5. They want you to believe that Hamas is to blame when Palestinians die in Israeli air strikes.