Social media pages shared a video captioned, “This is the Al-Jazeera reporter who allegedly got injured by shrapnel. He was set up for a dramatic interview pretending to be seriously injured in bed and a few hours later (2nd pic) he was at the funeral of his colleague with only a small plaster on his hand.”
The claim circulated as part of the “Pallywood” campaign, which casts doubt on the existence and numbers of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Gaza Strip, and accuses Palestinians of acting out to gain international sympathy.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading, the video clip which shows Wael AlDahdouh on a hospitals bed and receiving treatment was on 15 December 2023, same day his colleague Samer Abu Daqqa was targeted and killed. AlDahdouh was seen with plaster on his hand during Abu Daqqa’s funeral, which took place on 16 December 2023.
AlDahdouh never spoke about suffering from serious injuries in the video where he can be seen hurting. He was seen in another video asking about Abu Daqqa, saying that he’s still bleeding where he was targeted and that someone should coordinate with the Red Cross to save and evacuate Abu Daqqa.
AlDahdouh, who is also Al-Jazeera office director in Gaza, confirmed that he was hit with shrapnel in the hand, shoulders, and legs, adding that a shrapnel settled in his shoulder, which was later removed surgically. He also added that he, Abu Daqqa, and three members of the Palestinian Civil Defense where targeted, in which Abu Daqqa and the PCD members were killed, who were conducting an official task east of Khan Younis after coordinating with the Israeli occupation army.
| Source of Verification | Source of Claim |
| Wael Al Dahdouh – الجزيرة – فلسطين مقطع الفيديو الذي يظهر فيه تلقي الدحدوح العلاج – AlJazeera Arabic قناة الجزيرة – جنازة الصحفي سامر أبو دقة | Elly Israel Hamas War Updates A Gentleman’s Way PF |
