In October 13, 2023, Georgian-language Facebook users (1, 2, 3) reported about the Palestinian girl pulled from the ruins of Gaza and shared a corresponding video. According to the first post, a baby was pulled from one of the ruins of Gaza bombed by the Jews, hugging its dead mother, while the second and third posts said that the little Palestinian was probably saved from death by her father, who sacrificed himself.
The description of the circulated video is false. The video was, in fact, recorded in February 2023 in Aleppo, Syria, and it shows a child being pulled out of a building destroyed by an earthquake. Therefore, the footage spread on social networks has nothing to do with the Israel-Hamas war.
The video, which allegedly shows a Palestinian baby being pulled from the rubble of Gaza following an Israeli bombardment, is actually a girl pulled from the rubble of the February 2023 earthquake in Aleppo. The video was originally shared on February 12, 2023, by the Turkish charity Şefkat Eli on their Instagram account. According to the post, the little girl survived in the arms of her dead sister. The post also states that the earthquake occurred in the Aleppo region.
The devastating earthquake occurred in Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023. According to the Turkish Emergency Situations Service, the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake was located in the southeast of the country, in the province of Kahramanmaraş.
On February 13, Turkish news agencies (1,2) also published the footage of the child being pulled out of the ruins by the rescuers. The posts mention that search and rescue teams pulled out a little girl from the ruins of the building damaged by the earthquake in Aleppo, who survived in the arms of her older sister.
On October 7, 2023, the terrorist group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, as a result of which the terrorists killed more than 1,300 people and kidnapped 150. Israel responded by declaring war, regaining control of the border, and killing up to 1,500 Hamas fighters. After the bombing of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 2,300 Palestinians have died, a quarter of whom are children.
After the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a number of false claims, as well as photo and video manipulations, were disseminated on social media. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” articles:
- The Viral Video Showing Children in a Cage is NOT RELATED to the Israel-Hamas War
- Videofabrication as if the CNN Camera Crew Staged Bombing
- Ukraine’s Alleged Sale of Weapons to Hamas is Without Evidence – Russian Propaganda about the Black Market for Weapons
- What Does the Video of the Attack on the Woman with a Hijab Actually Depict?
- A Fabricated Quote Under the Name of Israeli Defense Minister Circulating in Kremlin Media and Social Networks
- Disinformation as if Hamas Warned Israeli Festival Attendees Before the Attack
About the Sources:
Facebook user Davit Loria often publishes information with anti-Western content. In April 2023, Loria reported that MEP Viola von Cramon was a descendant of Hermann Göring. In November 2022, he released a video that, according to the description, showed the violations observed in the current elections in the United States of America. Read more about this in the “Myth Detector” materials:
- Disinformation, as if Viola von Cramon is the Descendant of Hermann Göring
- Videos about US Elections Disseminated with False Description
Lawyer Irakli Zakareishvili regularly publishes posts of anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian and anti-opposition content, including disinformation. False information spread by Zakareishvili has been debunked by “Myth Detector” many times in the past.
Facebook user Teo Javelidze is a supporter of the pro-Kremlin “Conservative Movement” and one of the administrators of the “Alternative for Georgia” Facebook group related to “Alt-Info.” Javelidze regularly publishes anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian and anti-opposition posts, including disinformation.
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