With seven months since of the Israeli occupation’s aggression on the Gaza Strip, the misinformation campaigns continue vigorously in the digital space in various forms and contexts. Kashif has noted, through its monitoring and verification of information, misinformation campaigns targeting Palestinian children in Gaza. Pro-Israel accounts have disseminated misleading videos and images on social media platforms, particularly “X”, deceptively depicting Gaza children, as highlighted in this report.
Firstly: accusing Gaza children of acting and faking their injuries and deaths
Misleading accounts have used video clips from behind-the-scenes of drama work, commercial advertisements, photoshoots, and solidarity scenes featuring groups of children, falsely accusing them of acting to mislead public opinion and gain international sympathy. Following are examples Kashif verified:
Misleading video published by Israeli platforms claiming that Hamas teaches children to fake death.
A video clip of a child lying on the ground, with a camera and people directing him to perform certain movements, was widely circulating on Israeli accounts and pages, claiming that it was showing Hamas training children to fake death or injury as a result of the occupation army’s raids on the Gaza Strip.
Kashif verified that the video clip is incorrect through the reserve image search tool, confirming that the clip is taken from behind the scenes of the movie “Ahmad Manasrah” by director AwniShtawi.
Kashif contacted Shtawi who confirmed that the clip is a behind the scenes footage of his movie “Ahmad Manasrah” 2021, showing the actor kid embodying minor Ahmad Manasrah who was shot by the Israeli army and arrested, and still is in Israeli prisons.
Verification link: Misleading video published by Israeli platforms claiming that Hamas teaches children to fake death
Video clip from behind the scenes of a drama work accompanied by the following claim: “Exposing Palestinian lies: Gazans attempt to mislead the global and Arab public opinion and media by fabricating injuries among children and civilians in Gaza. Watch how makeup is applied to a girl who hasn’t been harmed and how ‘treatment’ is ‘administered’ to civilians who haven’t suffered any injuries, in front of the cameras! We thwarted the Gaza Bollywood.” Another tweet with the same meaning was published in English. The video was disseminated 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 to gain international sympathy.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading. Using reverse search and searching public sources, it found that the video is from behind the scenes of a drama work titled “The Reality,” which was published on the Instagram account of “Rami Jardali” on 29 October 2023, captioned: “The Reality… Behind the scenes.”
Additionally, “The Reality” which sheds light on the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, was shared on photographer Mahmoud Ramzi’s Instagram account on 28 October 2023, captioned: “Their betrayal mingled with the liver of my mind, swallowing all my energy to escape from one bottom to another. “I drown in a whirlpool of questions: Do they see us? Do they think our blood is a means to gain fame and money? Or have they indeed offered their honor as a sacrifice to those who have no honor. #Palestine”
Similar examples:
1. Footage from cinematic photo session in Iraq reshared as part of Pallywood campaign.
2. Telecommunications Ramadan commercial about Gaza reshared within the “Pallywood” campaign.
Video clips and old photos from before October 7, 2023, of children who are not from the Gaza Strip have also been circulated. Pro-Israel accounts claimed that the children are from Gaza and accused them of acting to mislead public opinion for international sympathy.
Images have been shared on social media of a child embracing his injured mother while she lies on the ground, with the claim that they are from Gaza and are portraying the injury.
Kashif verified the photos and found them to be old, and the claims to be misleading. By using reverse search and searching public sources, Kashif found that the photos are by “Getty Images” and were taken by photographer Ghaith Abdel Ahad.
Getty Images also described these photos, stating: “Many casualties and injuries occurred after an aerial bombardment in the southern area of the city of Tyre. Tyre, Lebanon – July 23: (US Magazines will be available until July 30, 2006): A Lebanese boy was injured holding his mother’s hand after their truck was hit by an Israeli aircraft missile as they fled their village on July 23, 2006, in Tyre, Lebanon. According to reports, at least 130 people have been killed in Tyre since the start of the air raids.”
Images of a Syrian girl republished as Palestinians faking children’s injuries
A series of three pictures of a wounded girl being carried by three different people in each one circulated on social media with the claim it’s of Palestinians using actors to fake children’s injuries. The claim was published as part of the “Pallywood” campaign which casts doubt on the existence and number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Gaza Strip and accuses Palestinians of acting to gain international sympathy.
Kashif was able to find that the pictures were old and misleading. Using reverse search tools and searching in public sources, Kashif verified that the pictures were taken by AFP photographer Amir Al-Halabi on 27 August 2016 after a Syrian airstrike on Al-Maadineighbourhood east of Aleppo.
The images were also taken in a short period during which the girl moved between the arms of the people who appeared in the circulating pictures. The pictures were taken by an AFP photographer as well.
AFP conducted an investigation on 26 April 2018 on the matter, after a range of allegations spread about the claim that the child miraculously survived 3 separate attacks.
.Verification link: Images of a Syrian girl republished as Palestinians faking children’s injuries
Video of Afghan kid shared by a fundraising account republished within the “Pallywood” campaign
An X account with the handle, “GAZAWOOD – the PALLYWOOD saga VS” posted a video of a child lying on the ground surrounded by brown boxes carton with the claim that the Palestinian girl from Gaza is acting. The video was posted within the “Pallywood” campaign, which casts doubt on the existence and number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Gaza Strip and accuses them of acting to gain international sympathy.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading, Kashif also verified that the girl was not from Gaza but from Afghanistan. “ashiyaana.angels” Instagram account posted the video on 16 January 2024 with the caption: “We changed this kids life forever. She is not begging anymore and will soon start her school life.” The video shows the moment of providing money to the girl, to turn out to be the Afghani currency.
Kashif’s team found that the account had been publishing such clips of children continuously since 5 February 2023, before the current aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The account explained in its first post on Instagram that it is collecting donations for families in need in Afghanistan, stating: “Support us and donate through this link, it can help us to cover families in need in Afghanistan Check the link in my bio.”
Kashif also verified that the language being spoken in the video is not Arabic.
Verification link: video of an Afghan child shared online by a donations group reshared by the Pallywood campaign.
Meanwhile, Videos of actual children from the Gaza Strip have circulated with claims that they are staged and untrue, aimed at misleading public opinion to gain international sympathy.
Video of father and daughter targeted by an occupation sniper in Gaza shared with the claim it’s a cinematic scene
A video of a father and his baby girl taking their last breaths after being targeted by Israeli snipers in the Gaza Strip was shared with the claim it’s a cinematic scene and not real life, as part of the “Pallywood” campaign which cast doubt on the existence and number of Palestinians killed and wounded.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading. The original video was published on 2 January 2024 on Al-Araby TV captioned: “Exclusive to Al-Arabs documenting a field execution of Palestinians by the Israeli army in Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza”.
Kashif contacted Al-Araby’s correspondent in Gaza, Bassel Khalaf, who confirmed that journalist Mohammed Arab, who is in Gaza, provided Al-Araby TV with the video, which shows a father and daughter on the ground after they were directly targeted by an Israeli occupation sniper, which led to their killing by. This is shown in the footage and other corners of the full video.
Verification link: Video of father and daughter targeted by an occupation sniper in Gaza shared with the claim it’s a cinematic scene.
Video of Gazan children trying to get food re-shared as fake
An X account by the username “Asher Biton” shared a video of Gazan children trying to get food in the Gaza Strip with the claim it’s an acting scene and not real, this comes as a part of the “Pallywood” campaign that accuses Palestinians of faking their injuries and deaths.
Kashif verified the video and found it to be real, however, the claim was misleading. Photojournalist, HosamShbat, explained to Kashif that the video was taken on 15 January 2024 during the distribution of food to displaced Palestinians in Abu Zeitoun area, Jabalia camp.
Thousands of Palestinians were waiting for their turn to get the food, which was not enough for everyone. The video shows a partial reality of the suffering of displaced people due to the lack of food and the difficult living conditions.
Shbat also posted the same video on his Instagram account, hossam_shbat on 22 January 2024 with the following caption: “The video was made 5 days ago before the hospice stopped, I didn’t want to publish it but unfortunately now is the time.”
Kashif also reached out to the Director of Supply and Logistics Support at the Palestinian Red Crescent in the Ghar Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Abu Atta, who explained that the Israeli occupation prevents aid entry to areas in the northern Gaza Strip (where the video was shot) and Gaza city without coordination and if so, it enters in very small amounts. Abu Atta added that the Palestinian Red Crescent crews received on Monday, 29 January 2024, 102 aid trucks through the Karem Salem crossing and 78 aid trucks through the Rafah land crossing, and these trucks are intended for both Rafah and middle areas.
Before October 7, over 500 trucks entered the Gaza Strip daily through the Karem Salem crossing and the Rafah crossing, according to Abu Atta.
Verification link: Video of Gazan children trying to get food re-shared as fake.
Several accounts on X shared a video of a child sitting on a table selling cookies in the rain, accompanied by various claims, including: “#Pallywood 101, they took a small terrorist under the rain with an umbrella claiming he has no home as a result of the IDF bombing, and that he is collecting money for his family.’ Acting. Directing like a good movie… ‘I’m singing in the rain…'” Another claim stated: “The sidewalks and even the other side of the road are dry, but he ‘chose’ to sit directly in the water stream.”
Kashif investigated the claims and found them misleading. Kashif reached out to the video’s photographer, Sami Al-Sultan, who clarified that he took this video on Saturday, 27 January 2024, while passing through the Deir al-Balah market near the Al-Baraka roundabout. He saw the child, Abdullah Shalmakh, sitting behind a table with some cookies in front of him as a heavy rainstorm began. Shalmakh, along with his family, sells cookies in the market in Deir al-Balah to provide a livelihood after being displaced from Gaza City.
The photographer explained that in this scene, Abdullah was trying to stabilize the table to prevent it from moving, as he couldn’t move it to a different location by himself due to its weight, especially with the sudden heavy rainfall. He continued to support it to prevent the cookies from falling off. Additionally, the area where the table was placed was sloped, causing water to accumulate underneath, making it difficult to stabilize it. This is why various videos show different angles with varying levels of water accumulation.
A video of a Palestinian child from the Gaza Strip crying out: “What did the little girl do to them? She’s two months old, for twenty years he wanted a child, but she didn’t live for two months and she’s gone.”
Accounts on X reposted the video with the following comment: “Drama queen in his greatest role. He’s 15 years old and he’s been waiting for 20 years for a child! This is not Hollywood or Bollywood. This is Pallywood.”
Kashif verified the claim and found it misleading. Kashif contacted the video’s photographer, Shahab Younis, who clarified that he took the video on 17 October 2023.
The child appearing in the video is from the Abu Jazar family and was not speaking about himself but rather referring to his brother who was injured when their house was targeted by Israeli aircraft. His niece, Fatima Abu Jazar, was also injured in the attack. She was born after years of deprivation, leading to the amputation of her feet.
Mrs. Nahal Abu Jazar, the mother of Fatima Sami Abu Jazar, gave an interview to Palestine TV, explaining that on 17 October 2023, Israeli aircraft targeted the home of the Abu Jazar family in Rafah city. Fatima, her daughter, who was born after 14 years of trying, suffered an amputation due to the attack, and 15 members of the Abu Jazar family were killed in the strike too.
Secondly: Describing killed children as dolls
Misleading accounts are reposting videos documenting the moment families bid farewell to their children who were killed in Israeli shelling, claiming that the murdered children shown in the videos are nothing but dolls used by Palestinians in Gaza to gain international sympathy.
Israeli singer and social media activist RotemShefy, known as “Shevita” produced a satirical video accusing Palestinians in Gaza of using dolls as children who were killed in the aggression on the Gaza Strip.
A real video of a grandfather kissing his murdered granddaughter in Gaza was re-published with the claim that the child is a doll
Leonskee, an account on X, shared a viral video of a grandfather kissing his granddaughter goodbye who was killed by the Israeli aggression waged on Gaza, with the following claim, “SERIOUSLY?!?!?! I CAN’T BELIEVE PEOPLE FALLING FOR THIS #PALLYWOOD B*LLSHIT!!! Can’t you tell the difference between a doll and a real human??? Look at her hands, look at her feet when he puts her in the nylon! Why did she die??? She looks perfectly fine.”
The claim was widely shared within the “Pallywood” campaign which casts doubt on the number and existence of Palestinians killed and wounded in Gaza by the Israeli army, and accuses Palestinians of faking death to gain international sympathy.
Kashif verified the video and found it to be true but the claim was misleading, it also found that the man seen in the video is Khalid Nabhan, and the girl he is holding and hugging is his grandkid Reem, who was killed along her brother Tariq in an Israeli shelling on the grandfather’s house.
The grandfather, Nabhan, was interviewed multiple times by different media outlets and social media activists in which he tells the details of Reem and Tariq’s killing.
Different media outlets and activists in Gaza published videos and photos of Reem before her killing.
The claim which points that Reem is a doll not a human comes in the aftermath of an unprecedented engagement and solidarity with her grandfather from Arab and Western audiences.
Verification link: Real video of a grandfather kissing his murdered granddaughter in Gaza re-published with the claim that the child is a doll
Real video of a killed infant in Gaza circulates claiming it’s of a doll
A video of a murdered infant from the Gaza Strip was published with a claim it’s a doll and the Palestinian faking death. The claim was spread along the #Pallywood social media campaign which casts doubt on the existence and number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Israeli shelling and aggression on Gaza, and accuses Palestinians of faking death to gain international sympathy.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading. The viral videos are of the infant Mohammad Al-Zahar who was killed in an Israeli occupation’s bombing on his family’s home in Al-Maghraqa area north of Al-Nusairat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip just after the ceasefire ended and the Israeli aggression resumed.
The infant’s grandfather stated that his daughter was breastfeeding her child, who was in good health condition and didn’t suffer any kind of health issues, when they were targeted by Israeli occupation’s bombing which led them to flee and transfer the infant to Al-Awda hospital in which retransferred Mohammad to Al-Aqsa hospital where he was confirmed dead (killed). Multiple media outlets and journalists covered Mohammad’s farewell.
Verification link: Real video of a killed infant in Gaza circulates claiming it’s of a doll
Real video of grieving mother embracing her killed twin in Israeli strike shared as dolls
A video of a mother in Gaza embracing her dead twins went viral with the claim: “New dolls arrived in Gaza to make propaganda!” Hamas terrorists must be eliminated and destroyed!”
Kashif verified the video and found it to be real and that the claim was misleading. The video was published by journalist Hazem Suleiman via his account on Instagram on Sunday, 3 March 2024, with the following caption: “After 10 today, they and their father, Wissam, were killed.”
Kashif was able to contact the mother, Mrs. Rania Youssef Abu Anza, who confirmed the killing of her husband, Wissam Abu Anza, and her twin in the bombing of their house east of the city of Rafah, near the Mall of Arabia, on Saturday, 2 March 2024.
Mrs. Abu Anza told Kashif that she had given birth to her twins after a successful transplant at the Hala Specialized Center in Gaza City after nearly 10 years of marriage. She provided Kashif with a picture of her husband and two children before they were killed.
Journalist Hazem Suleiman, confirmed to Kashif that he took the video on Saturday. Adding that he was a neighbor of Abu Anza family and knew the husband, Wissam, closely.
Multiple media outlets also covered the news on their platforms.
Verification link: Real video of grieving mother embracing her killed twin in Israeli strike shared as dolls
Real video of a mother bidding farewell to her killed child in Gaza shared with the claim that the girl is a plastic doll
“Saqr bin Adullah” account on X, formerly known as Twitter, published a video of a mother bidding farewell to her killed child in the Gaza Strip with the claim that the girl is a plastic doll and that the video is misleading. The claim was shared along the “Pallywood” social media campaign which casts doubt on the existence and number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Gaza Strip, and accuses Palestinians of faking death to gain international sympathy.
Kashif verified the claim and found it to be misleading, while the video is real. The video clip is of the mother of the killed baby girl, Jury Miqdad, as she bids farewell to her child, who was killed as a result of the Israeli occupation’s bombing in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
A group of media outlets and journalists in the Gaza Strip, including Rum Agency, Al-Sharq News, Al-Jazeera, Abdullah Al-Attar, and Uday Abu Taha, covered the farewell of the child, Jury Miqdad, on 1 December 2023.
Verification link: Real video of a mother bidding farewell to her killed child in Gaza shared with the claim that the girl is a plastic doll
Thirdly: Accusing children in the Gaza Strip of carrying and using weapons and accusing Gaza residents of teaching their children to use them
This approach is claimed by the “GazaEducation” account on X, which is currently suspended at the moment of preparing this report. The account publishes old videos and photos of children who are not from the Gaza Strip surrounded by weapons or using them. It also reposts videos of children holding toy weapons or throwing stones. Additionally, the account shares videos of children wearing masks or Palestinian scarves, claiming that what is being posted shows the type of education children in Gaza receive.
“GazaEducation” X account recently posted a video showing a young man giving a child a weapon and then the child firing it. The video was accompanied by a set of hashtags related to the Hamas movement, including: #HamasKids, #Hamaschildren, #Gazachildren, and #gazaeducation, implying that the video was filmed in the Gaza Strip and that Hamas teaches children to use weapons.
Kashif investigated the video and found it to be old and the claim misleading. “AL Jadeed News” channel uploaded the video to YouTube on 26 May 2013, titled: “A girl firing from Bab al-Tabbaneh at Jebel Mohsen during the clashes in Tripoli.”
“GazaEducation” X account posted a video of a man holding a weapon while teaching a child how to use it, titled: “This made me very sad,” implying that the event took place in the Gaza Strip. The “GazaEducation” account claims to publish videos showing how parents in Gaza teach their children.
Kashif verified the video and found it to be old and misleading. Several accounts on social media and websites posted the video in 2018, claiming the incident took place in Idlib province, Syria. Upon closer examination of the man’s accent, the observatory found it not to be Palestinian.
“GazaEducation” account was created in January 2024, with only 276 followers at the time of this verification. Its location is listed as Israel. Despite its small following, its tweets reach thousands of people.
The account describes itself in a pinned tweet saying: “This channel was created to allow people from all over the world to understand the type of education children receive in Gaza and in terrorist locations in general”.
It publishes videos and images of children surrounded by weapons or using them, as well as reposts videos of children holding toy weapons or throwing stones. The account shares videos of masked children or those wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh.
It also accompanies the videos and images it posts with the following hashtags: (#GazaGenocide, #GazaHolocaust, #StandWithIsrael, #HamasKids, #Hamaschildren, #Hamaseducation, #Gazachildren, #gazaeducation, #HamasTerrorists, #FreePalestineFromHamas, #FreegazaFromHamas, #Pallywood, #פאליווד, #destroyhamas, #ChildAbuse).
Similar examples:
Fourthly: accusing Gaza children of faking their injuries and illnesses
Misleading accounts have shared videos of children injured due to the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, claiming that these children are pretending and haven’t been injured. Additionally, these accounts also share images of sick children, downplaying their deteriorating health conditions. For instance, the case of Yazen Kafarna, whose health worsened due to malnutrition and the Israeli blockade preventing medication from entering Gaza. However, these accounts deny that the aggression is responsible for the children’s deaths or deteriorating health, instead claiming that the children are not even from Gaza.
Accounts on social media shared a video of an injured girl, insinuating that it was a staged scene as part of a “Pallywood” campaign, which accuses Palestinians of faking injuries and deaths. The comment accompanying the video was in English: “New pallywood for you.”
Kashif verified the video and found it to be genuine, debunking the misleading claim. The video was originally posted by journalist Mohammed Assaf on his Instagram account on 29 December 2023. At the end of Assaf’s original video, there is a scene showing the girl being taken into an ambulance. However, the accounts that shared the video out of context (claiming it was staged) omitted this part.
Furthermore, journalist Assaf posted another video of the same girl covered in dust, clearly showing her injuries on 28 December 2023. He titled the video: “Injuries from targeting a residential tower in the middle of the Gaza Strip.”
Kashif contacted Assaf, who confirmed that the videos are authentic and depict the aftermath of the targeting of the Mashata residential tower in the Zawaida area. Assaf also added that the girl’s sister was killed in the attack.
Several news agencies and websites also published photos of the injured girl seen in the video, including the Associated Press, with captions such as: “Evacuation of a wounded Palestinian girl after an Israeli shelling on Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, December 28, 2023.”
Similar examples:
1. Videos of two different children wearing the same shirt reshared as a child faking injury.
2. Two real videos of activist Mahmoud Zuaiter from Gaza were re-published as part of the Pallywood.
Nature of misleading accounts accusing children of staging and fabrication
Some of these misleading accounts were created after October 7, 2023, where they continuously disseminate a large amount of misleading information, often from unknown sources like the “Gazawood” account established in November 2023.
These accounts also include a variety of hashtags for the videos and images they share, with the most prominent being “#pallywood,” which has reached 61 million social media users since December 2023.
Furthermore, these accounts primarily distribute their content through the “X” platform but also extend to other social media platforms.
Some accounts take a systematic approach, focusing on a particular misleading context. For instance, the “GazaEducation” account on “X,” as mentioned earlier, accuses Gaza children of carrying and using weapons and alleges that parents are teaching them to do so. This account utilizes hashtags in an inflammatory context against children, such as #HamasKids and #Hamaschildren.
Some official Israeli figures, such as Ofer Gendelman, the spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister, and journalist Edy Cohen, have participated in accusing children of staging and fabrication.
What is the reality of Palestinian children in Gaza?
These accusations against Gaza children come amidst their targeting by the Israeli occupation. Since October 7, there have been over 15,000 children killed in Gaza, with over 6,000 children injured, according to updates from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
UNICEF stated on 9 May confirming that Gaza’s children have suffered greatly in the current war, with almost all children experiencing the painful effects of war, which will have lifelong consequences. Many children suffer severe injuries, exhaustion, illness, malnutrition, or psychological trauma.
Human Rights Watch confirmed that the Israeli government has used starvation as a war weapon, killing children in Gaza, calling for an end to this war crime, the cessation of this suffering, and allowing humanitarian aid to reach all parts of Gaza without obstacles.