Israel Hamas

Did Greta Thunberg wear a Hamas headband and hold an Islamic State flag in an image that appeared on social media? No, that's not true: The picture showing the Swedish climate activist has been changed from the original using photo editing. While Thunberg does support a ceasefire in Gaza and "Justice for Palestine," based on posts on her social media…

Does a viral video show a Palestinian teenager killed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 2023 Hamas-Israel war? No, that's not true: The footage went viral in 2015. The events preceding the scene in the video were highly contested, but the video showing the 13-year-old bleeding on the ground captured his injuries, not his death. He was later convicted…

Does a viral video on the X platform prove that "the Kamal Hospital in the Gaza Strip" was attacked by the Israeli forces "with a bulldozer" in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage predates the conflict. It is a least a decade old, and was posted as news coverage of an incident in Egypt. The claim appeared in a…

Does a video of a baby with medical tubes and sensors attached to their body show the consequences from conflict in Gaza for Palestinian children in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage in a post making that implication predates the 2023 Hamas-Israel war. The video comes from an account of an American family documenting the journey of their baby…

Did Israel officially admit that its army bombed the Nova Festival and caused the death of 364 Israelis during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: Israeli officials called the claim "untrue" and "fake." Additionally, there is no evidence presented to support the assertion that the Israel Defense Forces attacked the music festival, resulting in the…

Does a video of a man collapsing in the street prove that his fall was staged for pro-Hamas propaganda and that it happened in Gaza in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage predates the 2023 Hamas-Israel war. Contrary to online speculations, it doesn't show an incident in Gaza -- it was filmed in the West Bank in 2015. Lead…

Was the academic year in Gaza suspended because "all students" have died? No, that's not true: Available data suggests that most schoolchildren are still alive, even though the Hamas-Israel war has disrupted their education. While international organizations have drawn attention to the death toll among minors in the war, none state that Gaza's entire school-age population -- some 625,000 children,…

Is a video on social media that shows clothing thrown from above, falling into heaps on a Times Square sidewalk, part of a protest against the clothing store Zara because of an ad that was "disrespectful of the Gaza conflict"? No, that's not true: The CGI video is aiming to raise awareness of the environmental impact of the fast fashion…

Does a video show an Israeli army commander on October 14, 2023, stating that the Israel Defense Forces trapped and burned Israeli civilians in a house? No, that's not true: A Defense Forces spokesperson told Lead Stories that "The clip in question is part of a broader briefing on Hamas' massacre of Israeli civilians." The deceptively edited social media clip…

Is Starbucks leaving Morocco and San Francisco due to boycotts over the Hamas-Israel crisis and pro-Palestinian protests? No, that's not true: Starbucks announced the closure of seven stores in San Francisco on October 2, 2023, five days before the Hamas-Israel war began, the company spokesperson confirmed to Lead Stories. Starbucks also confirmed that the company continues to operate stores in…