Multiple social media users were sharing a video this week claiming it showed the final moments of the Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh before his assassination, however the viral video was from an unrelated incident last year and was of a Palestinian being treated for his injuries by medical staff.
Yesterday, Advocate Mona Javed, the vice president of the PML-N’s Punjab lawyers wing, shared a video with the caption: “The last words of martyr Ismail Haniyeh, a few moments before his martyrdom, may God have mercy on him.”
The video showed an injured and bloodied man being treated for his injuries and getting his face cleaned up by what looked to be medical staff. Other people, including a woman with a child on her shoulder, can also be seen in the background.
The post gained over 400,000 views.
Another X user, who appeared to be a PTI supporter based on his past posts, also shared the video with the caption: “Ismail Haniyeh’s last words in Iran say: Help the Muslims of Gaza.”
The post racked up over 330,000 views.
The video was also shared by multiple other X users and was also shared on YouTube.
A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of a claim due to its virality by the iVerify Pakistan and it was confirmed that the video is an old and unrelated one from November 2023 showing an injured Palestinian being treated for his injuries by medical staff.
The iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image search using screenshots from the video which led to a website for a video subscription service hosting it at least eight months ago around November and December 2023.
A further search yielded the video on Arabic news aggregator website Nabd on November 6, 2023, with the caption: “As he bleeds, a Palestinian raises his index finger high and chants, ‘We are all with the resistance … a steadfastness that you will only find in Gaza. Gaza resists and will win.’”
With the timeframe narrowed down, a search for posts about the video from November 6, 2023, yielded X posts sharing it with the same caption as that on the Nabd website.
Lastly, the imagery in the video does not match the description of Haniyeh’s assassination. The Hamas chief and one of his guards were killed via a projectile hit to his accommodation in Iran while the video shows a bloodied man being treated for his injuries by medical staff and a woman with a child is also seen — all elements that have not been reported anywhere in the mainstream media about Haniyeh’s assassination.
A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of a claim due to its virality and it was confirmed that the video is an old and unrelated one from November 2023 showing an injured Palestinian being treated for his injuries by medical staff.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ and UNDP.
