Fact Check: Old videos of Israeli attacks on Gaza passed off as visuals of ongoing conflict with Hamas
NewsMeter found that both videos don’t contain visuals of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 9 Oct 2023 10:46 AM GMT
Screengrab from X posts.
Hyderabad: Amid the declaration of war by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the recent surprise attack by Hamas militants from Gaza on southern Israel and the firing of thousands of rockets that have reportedly taken hundreds of lives, social media is rife with photos and videos claiming to show the visuals of ongoing conflict.
An X premium user shared a video of a multi-storey building collapsing from an airstrike having the caption, “Israel retaliates with ‘Operation Iron Swords.’ Terrorist Pigs have Nowhere to Hide now. INDIA STANDS WITH ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFEND THE NATION Liberals can start crying in 3..2..1. (sic)”
(Image Credit: X/@BattaKashmiri)
Another X premium user shared a different video of an airstrike on a residential area with the caption, “Israel announces ‘Operation Iron Swords’, drafts tens of thousands. Launches first major retaliatory Airstrike on Hamas Interior Ministry building (planned the terror attack). (sic)”
(Image Credit: X/@MeghUpdates)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that both videos don’t contain visuals of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
First video
We noticed the logo of Al Jazeera in the viral video. Taking this as a cue, we performed a reverse image search along with keywords and found the video posted on X on May 13, 2021, by the official Al Jazeera handle.
According to the caption, the video shows the 14-storey al-Shorouq tower, housing media offices in Gaza City, destroyed by multiple Israeli airstrikes.
We also found the video published by Al Jazeera’s YouTube channel on May 14, 2021, titled ‘Israel destroys third Gaza tower.’
The description read, “This is the moment the 14-storey al-Shorouq tower, housing media offices in Gaza City, was completely destroyed by multiple Israeli air raids on Wednesday.” The visuals of the Israeli airstrike destroying the al-Shorouq tower in Gaza were also published by the BBC and NBC News in May 2021.
Second video
Upon a reverse image search of the second video’s keyframes, we found it published by The Guardian’s YouTube channel on May 23, 2023, titled ‘Moment Israeli airstrike hits house in northern Gaza as fighting continues.’
We also found the video published by the Associated Press Archive on May 18, 2023, titled ‘Israeli strike hits house in northern Gaza.’
Hence, we conclude that the viral videos do not show the ongoing airstrike from Israel and Hamas militants from Gaza. The first video dates back to 2021, and the second one is from May 2023.
