FACT CHECK: Posts Claim To Show Killed Israeli Officer

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on X claims to show an Israeli officer named Colonel Baron Hevi, who was killed recently in the fighting in Gaza.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence that this IDF officer exists.

Fact Check:

The IDF suffered its deadliest day in its invasion of the Gaza Strip, with more than 20 troops killed in fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, according to CNN. 219 Israeli troops have so far died in the invasion, which occurred after Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, the outlet reported.

Social media users are sharing an image of an IDF soldier, claiming it shows an Israeli officer recently killed in Khan Younis. (RELATED: No, Clip Does Not Show Trump Saying He’ll Be President For ‘Four Years And Beyond’)

“News Shock in #Tel_Aviv 💥 Colonel “Baron Hevi,” commander of the spearhead units in the #Golani Brigade, was killed in the battles of #KhanYounis. Baron appeared two days ago wearing a dinosaur costume #Gaza swallowed him,” one user wrote.

However, there is no evidence that a soldier named Baron Hevi was killed. If a soldier by the name of Baron Hevi was killed, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. A wider internet search also did not yield any results for this alleged soldier.

The IDF referred Check Your Fact to the website which lists the name of Israeli soldiers who have died since Oct. 7. The name “Baron Hevi” also does not match any of the names released by the IDF. The image in the X post also was taken Dec. 15, or a month before the alleged death of this alleged officer.

“Israeli soldiers are seen during a ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit),” reads the image description on Alamy.

BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh also debunked this claim in a Jan. 23 tweet.

“Claims that Israeli ‘Colonel Baron Hevi’ of the ‘spearhead unit’ is one of the 21 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza who was previously filmed wearing a dinosaur costume are false. No such person or unit exists in the IDF, and the image posted as evidence doesn’t show him,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.

 

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
Follow Elias on Twitter Have a fact check suggestion? Send ideas to [email protected].

Trending