Images shared on X claim to show U.S. special forces in Gaza.

US special forces are in Israel on the Gaza border. Photos sent to me by a source.

This raises an important question: Is the US a direct participant in the genocide of Gaza? pic.twitter.com/Y1HqV7sl5n

— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) November 1, 2023

Verdict: False

The image was taken by the Forward Observations Group, a private U.S. company.

Fact Check:

The New York Times reported that American commandos were in Israel in order to help advise and locate hostages. Social media users have been sharing images claiming it shows U.S. special forces on the Gaza border.

“US special forces are in Israel on the Gaza border. Photos sent to me by a source. This raises an important question: Is the US a direct participant in the genocide of Gaza?” reads the post.

These images, however, do not show American special forces. Through a keyword search, Check Your Fact found that the images were originally published on the Instagram account of the Forward Operations Group. This group was founded by a U.S. soldier as a lifestyle company and members of the group traveled to Ukraine to take images and photos of the conflict, according to Foreign Policy.

The first was posted to the group’s Instagram story and was posted to Reddit by someone who screenshotted the image. The second image was posted to the group’s Instagram account in late October. (RELATED: Does Image Show U.S. Troops On The Ground With The IDF?)

The group also called the person who posted the claim an idiot in an Instagram story. Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours but Check Your Fact was able to take an image before it disappeared. OSINTtechnical, an account run by an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, also took an image of the story.

Screenshot/Instagram

“Forward Observations is known for showing up in various war zones to promote their products. They went as far as to address the original source earlier today,” the account tweeted.