Fact Check: Video falsely claims to show attack site of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
The video is from an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, which occurred in early April 2024.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 1 Aug 2024 11:53 AM GMT
Claim: A video shows the site where Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly assassinated.
Fact: The claim is false. The visuals are from an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Hyderabad: Early on Wednesday morning, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly assassinated in Tehran, Iranās capital, shortly after attending the inauguration ceremony for Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Amid these reports, a video claiming to show the location where Haniyeh was attacked has gone viral.
An X user shared the video with the caption, āFrom the location where the Mujahid leader was targeted Haniyeh in Tehranā (translated from Arabic).
Similar posts can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
A reverse image search led to an X with the same video stating, āIranian state media said at least seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpsā elite overseas wing, known as the Quds Force, were killed when Israeli F-35s struck the building with six rockets, almost entirely demolishing it," dated April 2, 2024.
This indicated that the video was old.
Further keyword searches revealed a report by Noticias Argentinas on April 1, 2024, titled āIsrael bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria, killing a Revolutionary Guard commander.ā
According to the report, Israeli warplanes bombed Iranās embassy in Syria, killing a senior Revolutionary Guard commander and several diplomats.
The same viral video is mentioned in the report and an X post by Noticias Argentinas on their official account.
The BBC also reported on April 2, 2024, in an article titled āIran accuses Israel of killing generals in Syria strike.ā
The report noted that Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haji-Rahimi were killed in the attack on a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy.
Hence the claim that the video shows the site where Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attacked is false. The video is from an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, which occurred in early April 2024.
