Israeli envoy proposes providing Taiwan with 'authentic' war updates

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Israel's representative to Taiwan Maya Yaron on Tuesday proposed news cooperation between Israeli news outlets and Taiwanese media to provide the latest "on-the-ground" news coverage detailing the war between Hamas and Israel, during a visit to the Central News Agency (CNA) in Taipei.

In her meeting with CNA senior officials, the first since taking office in August as representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO), Yaron said it has been more than two months since the on Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, with the latest death toll reported by AFP, on Dec. 15 standing at 1,139, including 766 civilians and 36 children, while another 5,240 people were injured.

More than 200 hostages were initially taken to Gaza, though over 100 have since been released in exchange for Palestinian women and children held by Israel.

ISECO represents Israelis interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

Although more footage relating to the Oct. 7 "massacre" continues to surface and Israel has gathered more information about the surprise terrorist attack and the brutality of Hamas, the Israeli authorities are finding it difficult to share such evidence with global media outlets due to the strict laws preventing them from doing so, including in Taiwan, she said.

Meanwhile, unfortunately, people tend to have short memories, as Oct. 7 was two months ago, while the international media continues to focus on Israeli's bombing and Israeli Defense Force ground operations in Gaza, according to the envoy.

That is why she said her office has been in talks with two Israeli news media outlets -- I24 and the Jerusalem Post -- to provide "more accurate and updated information" to Taiwanese media like CNA which is "more authentic about what is really happening on the ground."

In response, CNA President Tseng Yen-ching (曾嬿卿) and Vice President Jay Chen (陳正杰), who received the ISECO head during the Tuesday meeting, welcomed her proposal.

CNA has swapped national news with global counterparts worldwide for a long time, Chen said.

He welcomed representative Yaron to recommend Israeli media counterparts "so that we can have access to their information and news, stories every day." Meanwhile, CNA editor-in-chief Chris Wang (王思捷 ) noted that CNA strives to base its news reporting on multiple authoritative sources in an effort to ensure its reporting is factually accurate and balanced.

In welcoming the Israeli representative, CNA President Tseng Yen-ching expressed hope that the war will come to an end soon because "there is no winner in war." She also expressed condolences over all those killed during the war and offered prayers for the release of the remaining hostages as soon as possible.

Tseng said Taiwan and Israel both face threats from their respective neighbors and Taiwanese are trying to learn from the experience of the ongoing war.

Taiwan also understands that real war takes place not only on the battlefield but also in media and through news reporting, she added.

In response Yaron said she agreed that war involves not only military combat but also an information war.

"It's in the media. It's legal. It's a very legal war between humanitarian law and also the spirit and the solidarity of the people. This is something very important that I'm learning now," she added.

Following the attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, Israel has responded with continuous airstrikes on Gaza and is currently engaged in ground operations.

According to a Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (EuroMed) report released on Dec. 18, a total of 25,612 Palestinians have been killed, including over 10,000 children, having previously said that more than 90 percent of the deaths have been civilians.