A 49-second cartoon clip produced by Israel's Foreign Minsitry and entitled "Open your eyes about Gaza," quickly drew condemnation from the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel, whose members were offended at what they saw as a mockery of their coverage during last year's Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.
The video features a blonde-haired television correspondent in Gaza with an American accent declaring to camera "there are no terrorists here, just ordinary people", while a masked militant fires off a rocket in the background, presumably towards Israel. A female character then gives the reporter a pair of glasses, allowing him to see the reality of "life under Hamas rule".
The reporter then faints.
Foreign Ministry Cartoon
The FPA said it was "surprised and alarmed" by the "misleading and poorly conceived" clip.
"It is disconcerting that the ministry would spend its time producing a... video that attempts to ridicule journalists reporting on a conflict" that killed 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.
It described the video as "inappropriate" and "unhelpful."
Some 17 journalists were killed covering the July-August Gaza war, the bloodiest yet in the tiny coastal territory, including an Italian photographer working for Associated Press.
Foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon defended the controversial video, which had both foreign and Israeli reporters up in arms on social media.
He said the video was "poking gentle fun at the phenomenon" of Hamas allegedly using "human shields" during fighting and only "partial reporting" of this by international media.
The international media reported during the conflict on the alleged use of civilian sites by Palestinian militants to store weapons and fire rockets.
Israel carried out deadly strikes on several UN institutions, including schools where displaced civilians were sheltering, saying Hamas's actions forced it to target those areas.