Three years after the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, discussion around the event has shifted significantly in some political and public spheres, with various observers noting a marked change in how responsibility and blame are portrayed.
On that date, Hamas militants launched a coordinated and brutal assault on Israeli civilians and soldiers, actions widely condemned as atrocities including hostage-taking, murder, and acts of sexual violence. The attacks were captured on video and disseminated, amplifying global shock and horror.
In the immediate aftermath, official statements from some governments, including Australia’s Labor Party-led administration, unequivocally condemned the brutality of the Hamas attack. However, over the subsequent months, critics say the focus in political communications gradually shifted away from Hamas's actions and increasingly centered on Israel’s military response and the humanitarian impact on Gaza.
An analysis of 220 press releases and media statements issued by the Australian government between October 2023 and mid-2024 reveals that explicit references to Hamas’s crimes declined rapidly, evolving into routine, largely formulaic mentions. In contrast, commentary concerning Israel and its leadership, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, became more frequent and personalized.
The changing tone extended to how responsibility was framed. Hamas moved from being depicted as an active perpetrator behind the violence to being mentioned mainly in relation to suffering civilians in Gaza, while Israel was increasingly portrayed as the main actor responsible for the ongoing conflict. References to Hamas’s military tactics, such as the use of human shields or the construction of an extensive tunnel network, appeared initially but disappeared entirely from official discourse by early 2024.
Calls for Hamas’s disarmament continued, but critics highlight that these demands often lacked practical enforcement strategies. The government’s responses to continued attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah on Israeli civilians, including missile strikes and hostage executions, were infrequent and often brief, according to the review.
The omission of these details from official narratives has drawn criticism for potentially enabling a one-dimensional view of the conflict that sidelines key facts about Hamas’s role in escalating violence. This perceived imbalance was compounded by a broader discourse in which the suffering and actions of Israeli civilians were marginalized, and the ongoing threats they face underrepresented.
Some commentators argue that this shift in framing contributes to a climate in which antisemitism may gain traction, though they also recognize that antisemitic sentiments have complex and longstanding sources. They contend that certain cultural institutions and public platforms have exhibited a double standard in addressing and representing Jewish and Muslim communities.
By the time of the Australian Labor Party’s 2024 Draft National Platform, mentions of Hamas and Hezbollah had notably disappeared, with the conflict increasingly depicted solely as Israel’s responsibility. Events like the October 7 attack and subsequent Islamist violence received less attention or were omitted altogether from official and political discourse.
Overall, the transformation in language and emphasis seen in political statements since October 2023 reflects a broader contest over the narrative of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with implications for public understanding and policy engagement in Australia and beyond.