Sorting fact from fake news: Israel-Palestine war

Following the recent escalation in tensions between Israel and Palestine, a number of misleading information has surfaced, potentially casting a shadow on the truth in times of war.

Here is a compilation of the primary instances of fake news that have been circulating ever since the surprise attack of Hamas on Israel on October 7:

• Noa Rgamani: an Israeli civilian or policewoman?

An account on X (previously known as Twitter) claimed that Noa, who was kidnapped by Hamas during the music festival, was an Israeli policewoman who works on the Gaza border, based on pictures taken from her Instagram account.

However, the reality is that based on the circulated pictures that date back to 2016, Noa wears maritime attire and not police attire.  

She is a 25-year-old Israeli citizen taken captive by Hamas militants. A video captured shows Noa seated on the back of a militant’s motorcycle, with her arms outstretched towards her distraught boyfriend, as she desperately begged for her life. 

#WATCH : Video of Noa Argamani, 25, was kidnapped yesterday as a video showed her sitting on the back of a militant’s motorcycle, with her outstretched arms pointing towards her helpless boyfriend, pleading for her life. She screams ‘Don’t kill me! No, no, no’ – but the gunman… pic.twitter.com/bOe2gQRTuN

— upuknews (@upuknews1) October 8, 2023

Note that military service in Israel is compulsory, and exemptions can be secured on religious, physical, psychological, or legal grounds.

• Shani Louk – a German citizen not an Israeli soldier

Hamas previously claimed that they took a female Israeli soldier hostage, named Shani Louk ; However, the mother of 22-year-old told news outlet Der Spiegel that she recognized her daughter in videos circulating online of a half-naked woman lying face down in the back of a pick-up truck in Gaza with armed men seated around her.

Louk’s cousin confirmed that it was indeed Louk based on her unique leg tattoos and dreadlocked hair. 

Later on, Hamas spokespeople confirmed that Louk is alive, and receiving treatment in a Gaza hospital.

A statement from Shani Louk’s mother ⬇️pic.twitter.com/MQL9UHPYsA

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 8, 2023

• A kidnapped Israeli woman from southern Israel taken by armed Palestinians with a smile on her face

Contrary to false claims, it is a Palestinian influencer from Gaza, who appeared in a video surrounded by her numerous fans, was falsely reported as a young woman kidnapped by Hamas and paraded as a sexual slave through the streets of Gaza.

It is an Arabic-speaking social media health and beauty influencer known as Rosey Quartz. 

• Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005

Israel did indeed withdraw its military forces and settlers from the Gaza Strip. However, Israel also imposed a blockade on Gaza, which restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of the region through land, sea, and air routes.

According to the Amnesty website, since 2007 Israel has imposed an air, land, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip collectively punishing its entire population. 

Israel still has control over the airspace and maritime boundaries of the Gaza Strip and supplies electricity and water to the region.

For the last 25 years, Israel has implemented strict restrictions on travel to and from the Gaza Strip. These restrictions have had a profound impact on various aspects of life in Gaza, including hindering the ability of human rights workers to document violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), according to Human Rights Watch. 

• Hamas infiltrated Israeli territories

Under international law, the territories in question, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip, are considered occupied Palestinian territories. Israel captured these territories in the 1967 Six-Day War.

• The majority of Israeli victims, be they killed or imprisoned, are civilians

Contrary to false claims, Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, has compiled a comprehensive list of Israeli victims, showcasing that the majority of them are rather soldiers and police officers. 

At least 600 Israelis have been killed since Saturday morning’s surprise attack by Hamas. These are their nameshttps://t.co/saRJPStEdX

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) October 8, 2023

The list available on the website demonstrates that the number of Israeli policemen and soldiers killed or imprisoned are nearly double that of civilians.

• Israel claimed that Hamas attacked a music festival

An account on X (Twitter) said that the Israeli hasbara has falsely claimed that Hamas attacked a music festival, aiming to gain support from Western nations, and the Palestinians did not attack the attendees.

Videos circulated on social media showed partygoers were indeed attacked by the Palestinians. There were people dead on the ground, and others taken hostages.

According to CNN, At least 260 bodies were later found at the festival site. Some attendees were taken hostage, and seen in social media videos being seized by their armed captors.

• Pro-Israeli accounts circulate videos of children in cages

Several pro-Israeli accounts are sharing a video of children in cages, falsely claiming that it depicts Israeli children being held captive by the Palestinian resistance.

The footage, now deleted, indicates that it was already four days old, posted on TikTok before the Hamas attacks in Israel. Screenshots taken before the takedown indicate that the video was accompanied by a satirical Arabic hashtag ≠oppressed_in_my_country and ≠Chinese_people_have_no_solution and seven crying laughing emojis. 

Even an Israeli account on X confirmed the news, stating, “during these hours a video of children in a cage is being circulated and it is claimed that these are kidnapped Israeli children. This is an old video that was published at least four days ago – as you can see in the photo. There is no shortage of horrors on the internet, and child abuse is not acceptable at any time – but in this case it is a fake. Please stop sharing the video.” 

שימו לב: בשעות אלה מופץ סרטון של ילדים בכלוב ונטען כי מדובר בילדים ישראלים חטופים. מדובר בסרטון ישן שפורסם לפני לפחות ארבעה ימים – כפי שניתן לראות בצילום. לא חסרות זוועות ברשת, והתעללות בילדים בשום מקום זמן אינה מקובלת – אך במקרה הזה מדובר בפייק. אנא הפסיקו לשתף את הסרטון. pic.twitter.com/AUZ17xdNI8

— פייק ריפורטר | FakeReporter (@FakeReporter) October 8, 2023

• 40 beheaded Israeli Babies:

A number of Israeli journalists and foreign correspondents quoted “Israeli Military officials” saying about 40 bodies of Israeli babies, some of them with heads cut off. i24 News correspondent Nicole Zedek  said the soldiers told her about how they saw the bodies of babies next to their cots, and their heads chopped off.

They found the bodies of 40 Israeli babies, some with their heads cut off.

Pray for Israel. pic.twitter.com/Z2qGZ4l4qT

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 10, 2023

However, an Israeli army spokesperson told the Turkish Anadolu Agency that “We have seen the news, but we do not have any details or confirmation about that.”  

• A lost girl

Marc Zell, a VP, Republicans Overseas & Co-Chair Republicans Overseas Israel, posted a video clip featuring two men questioning a young girl about the location of her parents. Zell falsely claimed that the girl was an Israeli and had been abducted by Palestinian individuals. 

Hamas terrorist with kidnapped Jewish baby girl in Gaza. The caption in Arabic reads “ A lost girl”. This is our enemy. pic.twitter.com/0DjyWyaaDC

— Marc Zell (@GOPIsrael) October 8, 2023

However, Reuters fact checked the video and confirmed that the video was old, as it was published on TikTok on September 8.