A video shared on social media purportedly shows Palestinian journalists celebrating as missiles are fired at Israelis.
The Palestinian journalists: https://t.co/J4Zf2iBmPE pic.twitter.com/WtKpJgaJWE
— לאני (@notomedia5) December 12, 2023
Verdict: False
The claim is inaccurate. The video was not taken in Gaza.
Fact Check:
Israel reported that they have recovered the bodies of two hostages in Gaza, one a music festival attendee and the other a logistics supervisor, CBS News reported. The Israel Defense Forces identified them as Eden Zakaria, 27, and Ziv Dado, 36 and revealed that two Israeli soldiers were killed during recovery effort.
The Twitter post purports two Palestinian journalists celebrated the launch of missiles. The video shows two men wearing vests labeled “Press” as missiles are launched from a vehicle behind them while they cheer.
The caption reads, “The Palestinian journalists:” The tweet was in response to a post naming Palestinian journalists that have been killed since Oct. 7.
The caption is inaccurate. BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh found the original account that posted the video and responded with, “Err, those are pro-opposition Syrian journalists in Syria.”
Err, those are pro-opposition Syrian journalists in Syria https://t.co/fn6QNNGqyT
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) December 13, 2023
One of the men in the video, Jamil Alhasaan posted the video on his Twitter account. The original caption reads, “In retaliation for the blood of our children, in retaliation for our families, in response to the criminals, our factions target Qardaha.” Qardaha is a town in Syria and is the hometown of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to The New Arab. This journalist has shared another video from the same event on his twitter which also identifies the location as Syria.
ثأراً لدماء أطفالنا ثأراً لأهلنا رداً على المجرمين فصائلنا تستهدف القرداحة #إدلب_تثأر التقرير 6د كامل على رابط اليوتيوب : https://t.co/fl8dE4ly5q pic.twitter.com/JR1mGHocKG
— جميل الحسن (@Jamil_Alhasaan) October 7, 2023
Qardaha has been the center of several attacks. Reuters reported in June 2023 that the town was the target of a drone strike that saw two projectiles and killed one person. (RELATED: Video Of Pakistani Air Force Is Old)
This is not the first piece of misinformation that has been shared online. Check Your Fact debunked a claim 100 Turkish Navy warships have moved toward Gaza.
Note: Check Your Fact is working to debunk false and misleading claims from the recent event. Please send tips to [email protected].