Fact Check: Israeli tanks spotted outside Damascus? No, image is from Gaza in 2023
An image of tanks with Israeli flags has been making rounds as fresh ground onslaught in Syria.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 11 Dec 2024 5:16 AM GMT
Claim: The image shows the Israeli army reaching Damascus in Syria.
Fact: The claim is false. The image is old and shows Israeli tanks near Gaza, not Damascus.
Hyderabad: Israeli airstrikes have recently targeted several locations in Syria, destroying weapons and military facilities, as uncertainty looms over the countryās future following the ousting of president Bashar al-Assadās government by rebels.
Amid these developments, an X user posted an image with the caption: āBREAKING: Israeli tanks are near the Syrian capital of Damascus.ā (Archive)
The image shows a line of tanks with Israeli flags in an open area.
Similar claims can be seen here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. This is an old photo from Gaza.
A reverse image search led us to a report by DW titled āIsrael gives 24 hours to evacuate Gaza residentsā, published on October 13, 2023.
The report featured the same image with the caption: āIsrael gives 24 hours to evacuate Gaza residents. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo/picture alliance.ā
The report stated that the Israeli military had issued a 24-hour evacuation notice to over 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza, instructing them to move to the southern Gaza Strip.
We also found the original image from the Associated Press (AP) archives.
The description provided by AP confirmed that the photo shows Israeli tanks heading toward the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, not Damascus. The image was taken during heightened conflict along the Gaza border in October 2023.
The image was captured by Ohad Zwigenberg, a photojournalist based in Jerusalem.
His work primarily covered the Israel-Palestine conflict, focusing on significant events in Israel and the West Bank. Zwigenberg began working for AP in February 2023 and has documented many critical moments related to the regionās conflicts.
Therefore, the claim that the viral image shows the Israeli army entering Damascus, Syria, is false. The image is from October 2023 and shows Israeli tanks near the Gaza Strip.
