Does a photo show a man from Gaza buried in concrete by Israeli soldiers? No, that's not true: Social media posts using this same picture first claimed in May 2026 it was linked to a murder in Brazil by a criminal gang. Lead Stories found no credible news reports or other reliable evidence confirming that Israeli soldiers did this to a man from Gaza.
The claim appeared in a post and image that is no longer available (but is archived here) by the @hippyygoat account on X on June 8, 2026. It read:
Why is this not on the front page of every newspaper?
Israel buried him under concrete... a young man from Gaza. They tried to erase his existence.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @hippyygoat on X.com.)
The same image was published in Brazilian media three weeks earlier. An article (archived here) in Folha do Estado -- which translates to "State Newspaper" or "Newspaper of the State" -- from May 18, 2026, gave this account of the purported story behind the picture:
A man was reportedly brutally murdered by members of the Comando Vermelho criminal faction in a community in Rio de Janeiro. The case gained notoriety after graphic images circulated on social media, shocking internet users due to the violence of the execution.
According to reports circulating on digital platforms, the victim was allegedly encased in concrete while still alive. However, to date, little official information has been confirmed by authorities, who are continuing to investigate the case.
The intention was to spread fear among residents and prevent potential complaints against members of organized crime.
So far, there is no official confirmation regarding the victim's identity or any arrests related to the crime.
Still, it is unclear where the image came from. It has circulated widely on social media.
A reverse image search (archived here) on Google Images found many copies of it. The earliest version of the image Lead Stories found on social media was dated (archived here) May 16, 2026. The post did not mention either Brazil or Gaza. Some search results showed dates as early as Feb. 2, 2024, but when Lead Stories checked those posts, they did not actually contain the same image.
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo! News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports for "Man from Gaza buried in concrete by Israeli soldiers." If Israeli soldiers had committed such an act, there would likely have been widespread news coverage.
