Provoked with Darryl Cooper and Scott Horton EP:16 - LIVE: Special Guest Max Blumenthal - Gaza, Propaganda, and Power Date: October 8, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the roots and consequences of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, focusing on the siege of Gaza, Israeli politics, propaganda, atrocity claims, and the psychology of ongoing conflict. Scott Horton and Darryl Cooper are joined by Max Blumenthal, editor-in-chief of The Grayzone, author of multiple books on Israel and Palestine, and creator of the documentary Atrocity Inc. Together, they examine not just what happened, but how the events were portrayed and manipulated to fuel more violence, exploring the implications for both Israeli and Palestinian society.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Did October 7 Happen?

Max Blumenthal’s Analysis ([03:27]–[10:04])

• Long-term Siege & Lost Opportunities:
  • Gaza had been under a strict, deliberately calculated siege for years, following Israel’s rejection of peace overtures—such as Hamas’s call for a 20-year truce and support for the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
  • Israel transformed Gaza into a "panopticon prison," tightly controlled by land, air, sea, and advanced surveillance—even after claiming to "withdraw."
  • Successive attacks and blockades radicalized leadership under Yahya Sinwar, who experienced Israeli prison for 25 years, learned Hebrew, and understood Israel on a “granular, intimate level.” [06:33 Cooper & Blumenthal]
• Netanyahu’s ‘Conflict Management’ Philosophy:
  • Israeli leadership aimed to manage, not resolve, the conflict, keeping Gaza under industry-facilitated siege while allowing limited work permits and infrastructure funding through Qatar ([07:20] Blumenthal).
  • Internal Israeli politics (including judicial reform battles) left the military partly distracted, especially elite air force reservists who refused training.
  • The looming Abraham Accords and normalization with Arab states threatened to sideline the Palestinian cause—prompting Hamas leadership to plan a dramatic, game-changing action.

“Israel can make peace and the Palestinians can still be under siege and under occupation... they can negotiate to empty Israeli occupation jails… That was the theory of change.”
— Max Blumenthal [10:04]

2. October 7 Events: What Actually Happened?

Deconstructing Civilian Casualties and the “Hannibal Directive” ([19:59]–[34:04])

• Initial Targets:
  • The main operation targeted military bases; kibbutzim were attacked for captives, not wholesale killing.
• Nova Festival Tragedy:
  • The Nova electronic music festival was relocated close to the border days prior, putting hundreds in the path of chaos as the border was breached ([20:24] Blumenthal).
  • After the initial Hamas incursion, secondary waves included militants from other factions and even criminals, worsening the carnage.
• The Hannibal Directive:
  • Israeli Apache helicopters were ordered to implement the “Hannibal Directive”: fire upon vehicles and individuals, including civilians, potentially killing hundreds to prevent hostage-taking.

“They emptied the belly of the helicopter in minutes and returned to the air again and again. They didn’t know if they were firing on so-called terrorists or Israeli civilians...”
— Max Blumenthal [23:58]

• Israeli media later confirmed dozens of civilian vehicles were destroyed as part of this policy.
• Aftermath & Propaganda:
  • Most hostages who died, especially children, were killed via Israeli airstrikes or during the either battle or the Hannibal Directive, rather than by Hamas.

3. Media, Propaganda, and Atrocity Narratives

Challenging the “October 7” Atrocity Claims ([40:11]–[50:07])

• Fake Atrocity Accounts:
  • Propaganda claims (e.g., 40 beheaded babies, babies baked in ovens, mass rape) circulated on major media and by prominent political figures.
  • Only one infant was confirmed killed (Mila Cohen), shot through a safe room door. Other stories were fabricated or grossly exaggerated.
  • Notably, claims of mass sexual assault have not been corroborated, with Israel denying access to independent investigations.
  • Some prominent witnesses used in Western documentaries were later exposed as frauds by Israeli media.

“For Israel’s propaganda, what actually happened… was not enough. Had it been enough, this secret October 7th snuff film would have been presented to the public... Instead, Israel would invite some of the most submental members of our media commentariat like Chris Cuomo or Dr. Phil to watch this and then tell them to come out and tell the world about all the horrible things you saw. But they wouldn’t let us see it...”
— Max Blumenthal [41:44]

• Projection & Real Atrocities:
  • Some actions alleged of Palestinians (sexual violence) were, in fact, perpetrated by Israeli guards on Palestinian prisoners, even filmed and later broadcast, with perpetrators lauded in segments of Israeli society.

4. The Impact on Israeli and Palestinian Societies

Rifts, Radicalization, and Generational Indoctrination ([34:04]–[53:58])

• Israeli Public Opinion Paradox:
  • There is simultaneous support among the majority of Jewish Israelis for a brutal campaign (“70% support attacking Gaza to the point where civilians are killed” [34:04] Blumenthal) and growing protests demanding a ceasefire to secure the release of hostages.
  • The influence of the messianic far right (Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, and others) is fracturing society, creating new intra-Jewish “culture wars” paralleling those around the role of the Supreme Court before October 7.
• Militarization of Identity:
  • Universal conscription, a national siege mentality, and Holocaust education foster an “us against the world” outlook.

“...if we give a single inch, we will be exterminated… The lesson of the Holocaust means never again, only to Jews.”
— Max Blumenthal [53:58]

• Exit of the Secular Elite:
  • As the nation radicalizes, moderates and economically vital citizens begin to emigrate, slowly shifting the demographic even further toward hardliners.

5. Why The Narrative Matters—Atrocity Inc.

Dissecting the Political Use of Atrocity Stories ([41:44]–[50:07])

• Atrocity propaganda is not just about demonizing the other, but shaping the entire society’s willingness to pursue “total victory.”
• Falsehoods create the space for genocide, both at the policy level and within the public mind.
• Israeli society is now plagued by a “culture of revenge” and casual indifference (or celebration) of suffering on both sides—“laughing at starving kids” on TikTok is equated with “party atmosphere” atrocities.

“It’s the same mentality... It does not allow us to pretend that there is much, if any, moral gap between Israelis and any of their enemies.”
— Daryl Cooper [84:03]

6. Did Israel “Let It Happen”?

Addressing Theories About Deliberate Security Failure ([61:48]–[66:50])

• Max Blumenthal sees no direct evidence Israel orchestrated or allowed October 7 to proceed for political gain.
• While failures were numerous—with warnings ignored and the military distracted by internal political feuding—there’s no “smoking gun” tying the events to a deliberate policy.
• The reality, Blumenthal stresses, is that Israel’s sense of invincibility blinded them to real vulnerabilities, and the cost has been catastrophic internally:

“The Israeli military is not invincible. The narrative of Israel letting this happen or engineering this, it reinforces the concept of Israeli invincibility and also fails to recognize the capacity of Al Qassam and the other resistance groups in Gaza.”
— Max Blumenthal [66:50]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Hannibal Directive:

  “According to Colonel Noff Erez on the record, he said mass Hannibal… Apache helicopters given orders to fire on pretty much everything that moved on the ground, especially vehicles heading towards Gaza... We're talking about possibly hundreds of Israeli civilians who were killed in the mass Hannibal directive...” — Max Blumenthal [24:55]

• On October 7 Propaganda:

  “That wasn’t enough. What actually happened, what was documented… was not enough. Had it been enough, this secret October 7th snuff film would have been presented to the public. But instead… they would invite some of the most submental members of our media commentariat… to watch and then tell the world about all the horrible things you saw. But they wouldn’t let us see it.” — Max Blumenthal [41:44]

• On Siege Mentality:

  "The lesson of the Holocaust means never again only to Jews and that if we relent and if we make peace, it will happen again to us." — Max Blumenthal [53:58]

• On Israeli Media Culture:

  “It’s like America was in 2002 all the time, right? That level of hype and hysteria… you're in danger, every non-Jew in the world wakes up with only one thing on their mind: how to kill all the Jews.” — Scott Horton [61:48]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:27] – Origins and buildup to October 7
• [10:04] – The rise of Yahya Sinwar and policy shifts
• [19:59] – What actually happened on October 7
• [23:58] – The origin and execution of the Hannibal Directive
• [34:04] – Israeli public opinion, hostages, and political rifts
• [41:44] – Manufactured atrocity stories and propaganda
• [50:07] – Israeli society, indoctrination, and revenge psychology
• [53:58] – The colonial siege mentality, Holocaust narrative, and the Zionist worldview
• [61:48] – The political spectrum in Israel and the question of “letting it happen”
• [66:50] – Max Blumenthal’s take on conspiracy claims about October 7

Final Thoughts

The episode presents a deeply critical, insider-informed dissection of the Gaza conflict’s psychological and political dimensions. Max Blumenthal asserts that while atrocities occurred, the scope and narrative were inflated by state-backed propaganda to justify a campaign of retribution and ethnic cleansing. Scott Horton and Daryl Cooper contextualize this with historical, ideological, and practical factors—often drawing sharp parallels between propaganda techniques and cycles of militarized ethnonationalism.

The conversation closes with sober warnings about long-term radicalization, erosion of moral boundaries, and the disturbing ways atrocity stories serve war and occupation instead of peace.

Further Resources

• Max Blumenthal’s Documentary: Atrocity Inc. (The Grayzone, YouTube)
• Blumenthal & Cohen: Killing Gaza Documentary
• Film Recommendation: Defamation by Yoav Shamir (on Israeli Holocaust education and paranoia)

For those seeking a nuanced, unflinching look at the Gaza conflict, this episode is essential—pulling apart the manipulation of trauma, the entrenched militarism of Israeli society, and the weaponization of public grief on all sides.