Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a video alleging that Hamas is trying to deceive the public by presenting a doll as the dead body of a child is doing rounds on social media.
A Facebook user shared this post and wrote, “Israel Foreign Ministry. Hamas accidentally posted a video of a doll (yes a doll) suggesting that it was a part of casualties caused by an IDF attack.]
This Facebook post can be seen here.
It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
FACT CHECK
NewMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be false.
During the initial investigation, we came across similar visuals on the official website of Getty Images in which the man seen in the viral video is holding a dead body covered in a white shroud. According to the description, the image was taken by AFP photographer Mohammed Abed. The caption of the image reads, “A Palestinian man holds a child wrapped in a shroud during a funeral for victims killed in a building that was hit by air strikes, as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day in Gaza City on October 12, 2023. Thousands of Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants entered Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip enclave on October 8.”
In another photo taken by Mohammed Abed for Getty Images, the man can be seen holding the child at the same spot. The image’s caption reads, “People stand by the bodies of victims of Israeli air strikes outside the morgue of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 12, 2023.”
We then compared the viral visuals with the Getty images. Below you can see the comparison.
On observing the viral video on Facebook, we found an Arabic watermark which translated to English reads, “Momen Al Halabi.” Taking a hint from it, we did an open keyword search and came across an Instagram account of Momen Al Halabi, a Palestinian photographer who shared the viral video. Here one can see the man holding a child’s dead body and not a doll. The caption of the video reads ( translated using Google), “Who is stopping black hatred #غزة_تحت_القصف Where are the Arabs, where are the Muslims, where are the people with a conscience.”
Arabic Fact Check outlet Misbar spoke to Momen Al Halabi the Palestinian photographer from Gaza who captured the original footage. He said that the video shows the body of a young boy from the Al-Banna family, who resided in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in northern Gaza.
Thus, we can conclusively say that the dead body covered in shrouds was of a dead child and not a doll.
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