Israel Hamas

Do two separate images show professional soccer player Lionel Messi holding up a Palestinian flag and an Israeli flag, seemingly in support of both? No, that's not true: Both the images are altered to show Messi with the respective flags. The original images have nothing to do with either Palestine and Israel and were taken as part of a sports…

Does a photo show American soldiers praying in 2023 "before being deployed to defend Israel"? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, U.S. soldiers were not deployed to Israel. This photo was posted on social media in 2017, six years before the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict began. The 2017 post described it as "soldiers praying together after a Chapel…

Does a video on social media show a British law enforcement officer engulfed in flames during a rally related to the 2023 Hamas-Israel war? No, that's not true: The footage predates the conflict and the incident occurred far from the Middle East. It was recorded in Mexico in 2020. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly…

Does a video shared to X in November 2023 show a "Hamas supporter" burning "the flags of France" in Paris? No, that's not true: Using visual clues shown in the video and a staff translator, Lead Stories determined that the footage was filmed in Tangier, Morocco -- not Paris. The clues led us to the intersection where the protest took…

Does a video on social media show Israel "blowing up people in hospitals" in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: The video shows scenes that can be traced to Omar bin Abdulaziz Hospital in Aleppo, Syria. The facility was hit by an airstrike more than seven years earlier on July 15, 2016.…

Did Mel Gibson make a statement on Facebook about "the end" of Israel, saying, "soon the end and they know it, that's why they want to destroy everything in the way"? No, that's not true: Gibson's agent confirmed to Lead Stories that the actor and director did not make the post. Gibson's agent also confirmed that the actor does not…

Did the United Arab Emirates (UAE) send eight planes to Israel, carrying military aid and equipment in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel? No, that's not true: There's no proof to support that assertion. Additionally, the UAE has condemned Israeli ground operations in Gaza and also denied reports of the U.S. military using an Emirati…

Does a viral video from Gaza prove another case of white phosphorus use by the Israel Defense Forces during the Hamas-Israel war in the fall of 2023? No, that's not true: The specific shots of what was claimed to be white phosphorus projectiles hitting a United Nations school near Al Shati, also known as the Beach Camp, in Gaza, do…

Did London officials take down a United Kingdom flag before a march in support of Palestinians to "maintain peace"? No, that's not true: According to an X post from the local police, the flag was taken down to be cleaned. A Google News search of thousands of credible information sources using related key words did not supply evidence that the…

Does a nighttime video on social media showing a large group of people marching down a street depict a pro-Palestinian protest in France? No, that's not true: It shows soccer fans in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The video was shot on October 5, 2023, two days before the start of the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict. The claim was implied in a post…