“GAZAWOOD1” account on “X” recently published a video clip showing a woman screaming in front of a journalist from Gaza. The account attached the clip with the following text: “The immediate change brought about by just seeing a journalist in the streets of Gaza,” indicating that the woman is acting in front of the camera.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading. The video shows a woman who was in a state of extreme agitation and distress after being displaced from Beit Hanoun following a siege of about 85 days.
The journalist appearing in the video is Bilal Murtaja, who posted it on his Instagram account on 28/12/2024, and accompanied the clip with the following text: “The first and last moments of displacement of patients, the injured, medical staff and people from Kamal Adwan Hospital and northern Gaza after they were forced by force of arms and the hospital was stormed.”
Journalist Bilal Murtaja, who’s in northern Gaza, told Kashif that the woman approached him while covering events at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He added that she left Beit Hanoun with her family after a siege that lasted for around 85 days, and that the family was surrounded by an intense and strong belt of fire, and forced to leave “by force of arms.”
Mortaja added that the woman was in a state of extreme emotional distress due to what she had gone through, and that she had been leaning on two young men before she met him.
The Israeli occupation army launched a military operation in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcing medical staff, patients and the wounded to leave. It also arrested more than 350 people inside the hospital, including medical staff, wounded persons, patients, in addition to the hospital director, Hussam Abu Safia. The Israeli occupation army burned large parts of the buildings despite the presence of a number of medical staff and patients inside, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip rose to 45,514 and 108,189 injuries since 7 October 2023, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
| Sources of Claim | Sources of Verification |
GAZAWOOD1 | Journalist Bilal Mortaja belalmortaja Al Jazeera Palestinian Ministry of Health / Gaza (1) Palestinian Ministry of Health / Gaza (2) |
