Israel paid tech giant Google $45 million (approximately Rs. 396.5 crores) for a six-month advertising campaign to counter United Nations reports of famine in Gaza, according to an investigation by Drop Site News.
The campaign, initiated in late June, was launched shortly after Israel imposed a blockade on March 2, halting food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies from entering Gaza. Drop Site News reported that discussions in the Israeli Knesset about the public relations strategy began hours after the blockade was announced, focusing on mitigating global backlash rather than addressing the humanitarian crisis.
A prominent advertisement from the campaign, run on Google-owned YouTube, claimed, “There is food in Gaza. Any other claim is a lie,” despite UN declarations of famine in Gaza City and warnings of worsening conditions in other areas. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that 367 Palestinians, including 131 children, have died of starvation since the blockade began.
The contract, managed through Google's Display & Video 360 platform and YouTube, is described in Israeli government documents as 'hasbara,' a term often associated with public relations or propaganda. Drop Site News also noted that Israel spent $3 million (approximately Rs. 26.4 crores) on ads with the social media platform X and $2.1 million (approximately Rs. 18.5 crores) with Outbrain/Teads to further amplify its messaging.
Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, have publicly supported starving Gaza’s population as a strategy to force migration, with Smotrich stating, “No water, no electricity, they can die of hunger or surrender,” according to Drop Site News.
The campaign comes amid Google’s broader involvement with Israel, including a 2021 cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, criticized by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese as profiting from the Gaza crisis.
