12 children were killed, and dozens were injured on Saturday, 27 July 2024, after a rocket fell in a football field in Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan heights. Israel accused Hezbollah of targeting Majdal Shams, while Hezbollah denied responsibility for the shelling.
In this report, Kashif verifies the most significant misinformation about the incident, in addition to who the people of the Golan are.
– The Circulating of old videos and images in conjunction with the “Majdal Shams” Incident.
– Old video of a rocket falling claimed to be from the Majdal Shams tragedy:
Social media accounts shared a video showing a rocket explosion in the sky, claiming it was from the Majdal Shams incident, captioned: “Iron Dome failure led to the rocket falling in Majdal Shams.”
Kashif verified the video using the “Google Images” reverse search tool and found it to be old, dating 18 July 2024 and posted by the “Suppressed News” account on “X” with the following caption: “breaking: The explosion of a Hezbollah-launched suicide drone in the Upper Galilee, and the failure of the Iron Dome to intercept it.”
– Old photo of people stepping on Nasrallah’s images posted on social media as in the aftermath of the Majdal Shams tragedy:
The “Hoda Jannat” account on “X” posted a photo of people stepping on a picture of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, claiming it was in the Golan after the Majdal Shams massacre, implying Hezbollah committed it.
Kashif verified the photo using “Google Images” and found it to be old, initially posted by the “Defector from Hezbollah” account on “X” on 12 may 2021.
Accounts, including the “Al-Sham Independent Media Center” on Facebook and “Omar Madani” on “X” published the same image on 23 July 2024 and 19 July 2024, that is, prior to the Majdal Shams tragedy.
– Old images of a power outage in Lebanon reshared as the aftermath of the Israeli Shelling following the Majdal Shams tragedy.
“Youba Tv” posted a picture of a power outage in several buildings captioned: “Currently, power outages in several Lebanese regions as the Israeli military continues heavy shelling on Lebanon,” using the hashtag (#Majdal_Shams).
Kashif verified the photo using “Google Images” and found it to be old, originally posted by journalist Rima Njeim on “X” on 29 July 2020 with the caption: “It’s heartbreaking to see Beirut, which never sleeps, plunged into darkness.”
On 11 June 2021, the Israeli-Hebrew “gplane” website also published the picture in a report entitled “Artificial Entity “Lebanon” – returned itself to the Stone Age: no electricity, no fuel, no hospitals, no future” and stated “Beirut is dark tonight.”
Accounts on Facebook, including the “Beirut Umm Al-Shara’a” account, published the same photo on 29 June 2021 and reported that the picture was in Beirut after the power outage.
– Old images of traffic jams reshared as the mass exodus in Lebanon following Israeli statements of war on Hezbollah:
A photo showing dozens of cars was claimed to be a mass exodus from southern Lebanon to Beirut following Israeli statements about starting a war on Hezbollah.
Kashif verified the photo using “Google Images” and found it to be old, initially posted by the “bintjbeil” website on 16 March 2021, describing it as a “severe traffic jam on the Damour-Naameh road.”
– Israel’s Accusations and Hezbollah’s Denial
Hezbollah denied responsibility for the Majdal Shams shelling after being accused by Israel. In a statement, Hezbollah said: “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon indefinitely denies the allegations by some enemy media and various platforms about targeting Majdal Shams, and confirms that it has no connection to the incident at all, and denies all false claims in this regard.”
Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, vowed a harsh response to Hezbollah during his visit to the scene in Majdal Shams,Israel’s Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, stated that the army has raised its readiness to the next level for combat in the north.
– Majdal Shams: The Druze community clings to its identity and rejects Israeli citizenship and military service
Majdal Shams is located in the Syrian Golan, with a population of 11,458 in 2022, mostly Druze, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
Israel occupied the Syrian Golan in 1967 and has maintained control, despite international recognition of it as part of Syria. The Druze in Majdal Shams consider themselves part of Syria and refuse Israeli citizenship and service in the Israeli army.
The residents of the Golan, particularly in Majdal Shams, staged a popular uprising on 14 February 1982, which included a general strike and mass demonstrations against the Knesset’s decision to implement Israeli laws, including the imposition of “identity and compulsory recruitment.” The authorities in Israel resorted to violence and eventually retracted their decision after months.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was forced to leave the site of the funeral of the victims of the Majdal Shams incident after citizens protested his presence.
