FACT CHECK: No, Video Does Not Show Israeli Sniper Captured By Hamas
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, claims to show an Israeli sniper captured by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Al Qasem hunted him down alive! He pretended to be dead.
Alqassam: knock knock!! Alsalam alykum 😂 pic.twitter.com/ge67sbXXsU— Ivan Pain 🇵🇸 (@EagleMMAPain) December 11, 2023
Verdict: False
The video has been circulating before the current conflict.
Fact Check:
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has begun to flood Hamas’ tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Social media users have been sharing a video claiming that the Al-Qassam Brigades captured an Israeli sniper. One user wrote, “Al Qasem hunted him down alive! He pretended to be dead. Alqassam: knock knock!! Alsalam alykum.”
This video, however, predates the Israeli-Hamas conflict. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video was posted to TikTok in June 2023. (RELATED: TikTok Video Falsely Claims U.S. Troops Have Landed On Israeli Beaches)
@the_peripheral Marine sleeping during training #usmc #miltok #funnyvideos ♬ Here We Go Again (Original Mix) – Focs
“A Marine sleeping while whatching [sic] sector of fire,” a text within the video reads. The video description also states, “Marine sleeping during training.”
BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh also debunked the claim in a Dec. 11 tweet.
This video claims to show Hamas militants catch an Israeli soldier pretending to be dead.
The video is old and unrelated to the current Israel-Hamas war. It was posted to TikTok in June, claiming to show a US marine fall asleep during training. pic.twitter.com/JYwLPS95Hg
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) December 12, 2023
“This video claims to show Hamas militants catch an Israeli soldier pretending to be dead. The video is old and unrelated to the current Israel-Hamas war. It was posted to TikTok in June, claiming to show a US marine fall asleep during training,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.