FACT CHECK: No, Video Does Not Show Hamas Terrorist With Kidnapped Jewish Baby Girl In Gaza
A video shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, purports to show a Hamas terrorist with a kidnapped Jewish baby girl in Gaza.
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
Verdict: False
The baby girl is Arab, and the video was filmed in Hebron a month ago, according to Izzeddin Masalma, the social media user who appears in the video.
Fact Check:
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“Hamas terrorist with kidnapped Jewish baby girl in Gaza. The caption in Arabic reads ‘A lost girl’. This is our enemy,” the X video, viewed over one million times, purports. The video features a male wearing a black shirt and gray jeans and a baby girl wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. The male can be heard speaking in Arabic in the video.
The claim that the video shows a Hamas terrorist with a kidnapped Jewish baby girl in Gaza is false, however. Text overlay on the video indicates it originally stems from TikTok. A search of @izzeddin_masama, the social media user’s profile, reveals that the video is unavailable. A keyword search of the same username then generates an Instagram profile belonging to Masalma.
The TikTok video appears posted to Masalma’s Instagram profile, where a translation of the caption indicates the baby girl is Arab, and the video was filmed in Hebron a month ago. In the caption, Masalma notes he is aware of the claim surrounding the video and the situation is a “misunderstanding.”
“Peace be upon you guys, I had a misunderstanding yesterday because of this video, thinking that I am a terrorist, and this girl is Israeli, the girl is Arab, and the video is spontaneous, and the video was filmed in Hebron a month ago, not currently, and the video was already trending,” Masalma wrote.
“There was a misunderstanding, and I had an attack on Instagram and Tiktok, a major Israeli attack, and my account was deleted. On Tiktok, all this is due to the understanding that the video is old. I wanted to make this clear, and I hope you reach this point. Peace be upon you,” he said.
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Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the video featured in any credible news reports about the current Israel-Palestine conflict. (RELATED: No, Video Of Man Shooting Down A Helicopter Is Not From Israel-Hamas Conflict)
Check Your Fact has contacted Masalma via Instagram for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
