DECADE-OLD FOOTAGE from Egypt has been re-shared online, where it has falsely been described as showing the Israel Defense Forces storming the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.
The footage appears to show people seeking shelter in a hospital as gunshots can be heard outside.
“The Israeli army opened fire on the medics of the al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip – Al Mayadeen TV channel,” a tweet featuring the footage that has been viewed more than 15,500 times on Twitter/X reads.
The same video and description were copied in posts by Irish users.
However, the video contains evidence that shows that this is not the case – not least, a logo in the corner of the Rassd News Network, an alternative media network based in Cairo, which is not for the Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV channel cited in the posts.
The video also features a view looking out the doors of the hospital, where large ornamental buildings can be seen which would look out of place in Gaza.
The buildings that can be seen match with the buildings of the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in the Nasr City district of Cairo.
Distinctive arches, parapets, and multiple sets of windows, as well as the building layout all appear to match images of the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque which can be viewed online.
Interior shots in the video also match images of the inside of the Rabaa Al-Adawiya Specialized Hospital, which look out onto that mosque.
Both of these buildings were in the area of a mass killing of civilians in 2013 when police sought to break up demonstrators, many of whom were protesting against a military coup that had deposed Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi the previous month.
Known as the Rabaa massacre, the number of deaths as a result of the clashes is still a subject of dispute, with estimates ranging from hundreds to as many as 2,600.
The YouTube account of the Rassd News Network, whose logo can be seen in the video, first uploaded the video in 2013, describing it as showing the Rabaa massacre, as had been identified by Reuters.
The Al-Shifa hospital was raided by Israeli forces earlier this month.
The hospital, Gaza’s largest, has become a focal point for Israel’s military operations, with the army repeatedly saying Hamas uses it as a base, a claim the Israeli military has been under pressure to back up.
The militants and medical staff have denied that a command centre is under the hospital.
Al-Shifa was described Sunday as a “death zone” by the World Health Organization, in the wake of incursions by Israeli soldiers and multiple strikes on the facility.
More than 250 patients and 20 healthcare workers remain at the hospital, the WHO said, after 31 premature babies were evacuated southwards, 28 of whom were transferred to Egypt on Monday.
The Journal has previously debunked an old video from Syria that was shared online, falsely said to show Israel bombing another hospital in Gaza.
Since the recent wave of violence in Israel and Gaza began, misinformation and disinformation has surged on social media sites, often described as evidence of actions by either Hamas or Israeli forces.
These include video game clips being passed off as combat footage, years-old videos of attacks, military demonstrations, or firework displays from other countries being shared with descriptions that they show combat in Gaza; fake accounts for media organisations and journalists being used to spread misinformation; and doctored government documents.
Contains reporting by AFP.
TheJournal.ie’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say