Fact Check: Old video falsely shared as Hamas rocket misfire on Gaza hospital
NewsMeter found that the video doesn’t show an attack on Gaza hospital and is at least as old as 2022.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 19 Oct 2023 10:13 AM GMT
Screengrab of the post. (Source: X/@itsDeepakJangid)
Hyderabad: A video of a rocket being misfired is going viral on social media, claiming that the misfire in the video was caused by the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas, which led to the recent blast at a hospital in Gaza.
The claim comes after an explosion at the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital on Tuesday, which killed at least 500 people, including many children. Hamas blamed the tragedy on Israeli airstrikes, while Israel alleged it was the misfiring of Hamas rockets which led to the bombing.
An X premium account shared the video with the caption, “Live footage of the moment Gaza hospital was bombed by Hamas own misfired rocket. Reminder: 30-40% of Hamas’ rockets misfire and land short in the Gaza Strip. (sic)”
(Source: X/@itsDeepakJangid)
Another X account, Secure America Now, shared the video with a quote allegedly made by Al Jazeera journalist Farida Khan.
“I am working in Khan Younis, Gaza. I saw with my own eyes that it was Hamas “Ayyash 250” Rocket. It was Hamas misfired Rocket. Al Jazeera is lying. I have video of that Hamas missile landing in the hospital” - Al Jazeera Journalist Farida Khan,” read the caption.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video doesn’t show an attack on Gaza hospital and is at least as old as 2022.
On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found the video on X, posted by an Israeli journalist on August 7, 2022.
Another X user reposted the video on the same date, claiming that the video showed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket misfire that hit a target in Jabaliya.
A verified Facebook account, StandWithUs, also posted the video on August 7, 2022. The account also said that a failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad caused an explosion in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip, that killed at least four children.
We also found that the video was reported by websites such as The Australian Jewish News and All World News on August 7, 2022.
NewsMeter could not independently verify the aforementioned details of the video. However, it is clear that the video has been on the Internet since 2022. Hence, we conclude that the video does not show the recent bombing in the Gaza Hospital.
