FACT CHECK: Image Claims To Show Israel Using White Phosphorus On Gaza

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter
An image shared on X claims to show Israel using white phosphorous on Gaza.

Verdict: False

The image was taken in 2017. It was likely taken in Syria, not Gaza.

Fact Check:

Israel has continued its ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, with fighting near the al-Shifta Hospital, according to France 24. Israel has claimed that Hamas, a terrorist organization, has its headquarters underneath the hospital, which has been denied by Hamas and the hospital staff, the outlet reported.

Social media users are claiming to show an image of Israel using white phosphorus near the hospital. The video’s caption reads, “Breaking: intense lsraeli bombing with white phosphorus in the vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza.” (RELATED: X Post Makes False Claim About UN, Trucks Entering Gaza Strip)

This image, however, was not taken in Gaza. Through a reverse image search on Tineye, Check Your Fact found that the image has been circulating since 2017. Another reverse image search found the image posted on websites that claimed it was from the U.S. bombing campaign in Syria, with one website citing the SANA Agency, a Syrian state media outlet.

“The ‘American coalition” aircraft renewed its attacks with internationally prohibited bombs on populated areas in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, causing a number of martyrs and major destruction to homes,” reads the SANA Agency article.

The Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorous on Gaza and Lebanon in an Oct. 12 article. The IDF denied those accusations in a statement to NBC News.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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