Old video of building hit by an airstrike misattributed to Israel-Hamas conflict

By: Sam Doak
October 10 2023

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Source: X

Context 

On October 7, 2023, combatants affiliated with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched a multi-faceted assault on the Israeli border. After breaching defenses, militants entered civilian-occupied zones. As of October 9, officials reported that over 900 Israelis were killed, mainly civilians. Addressing the damage caused by retaliatory strikes, the Palestinian Health Authority reported that Israeli attacks in Gaza had killed over 600 people.  

As violent scenes unfolded, a video of an airstrike targeting a building in an urban area was shared widely. This video reached a particularly high number of viewers because it was the first in a compilation shared by Mario Nawful, a social media personality who often offers commentary during high-profile news events. According to X’s metrics, Nawful, who has shared misattributed footage in the past, attracted 1.9 million views with this post.

Despite being widely circulated recently, Logically Facts has determined that it was not filmed during the violence that has unfolded since October 7, 2023. 

In fact

A reverse image search reveals that this video has been on X since May 2023. On May 13, a user posted it with the caption, “The occupation destroyed the house of the Za'anin family in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.”

To verify the accuracy of the location described in this post, Logically Facts searched for reports concerning this incident. On May 20, Chris Osieck, an open-source investigator with a track record of geolocating incidents within this region, posted on X, locating the targeted building in Beit Hanoun, Gaza. According to Osieck, an image available on Getty Images makes it possible to match the location shown in the video to this area.

To independently verify Osieck’s findings, Logically Facts compared the image in question to the footage. Details, including graffiti, curb markings, and doorways, make it possible to conclude with certainty that this is the location in the video.

The verdict

This video was filmed in Beit Hanoun, Gaza. The incident shown occurred in May 2023, months before the outbreak of violence on October 7. This claim has, therefore, been marked as false.