Fact Check: Old video from Syria shared as Israeli attack on Gaza mosque

Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group Hamas, a video of a building being bombed is viral on social media. Those sharing the video claim that the mosque was bombed by Israel in Gaza at the time of Azaan (prayer call), as part of Israel’s retaliation against Hamas’ attack which started on October 7.

An X user shared the video with the caption, “Attack on Mosque in #Gaza during #Azaan. #IStandWithPalestine. (sic)”

Several X users shared the video claiming the same. Click here and here to view the posts.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is from 2014 in Raqqa, Syria.

Upon a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found the extended version of the video on Flickr published on September 23, 2015, titled, “ISIS bombed Shrine of Hazrat Owais al Qarni R A in Raqqa Syria.”

We also found the video on a website called Islamic Invitation Turkey published in 2014. It identified the structure as the Uwais al-Qarni mosque. According to the website, the shrine was blown up by Turkey-backed terrorists.

A Reuters report from 2014 also said that the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) bombed the Shi’ite Muslim shrine, Uwais al-Qarni mosque, in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa. The shrine was once a destination for Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq before it was taken over a year ago by Sunni rebels battling to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

Hence, we conclude that the video is not from Gaza. It dates back to 2014 and shows a mosque demolished by ISIL in Raqqa, Syria. The claim is misleading.