Accounts on X shared an image of a child sleeping between two graves, claiming it depicts a child from Gaza. The caption read: “When you crawl into your parents’ bed in the morning, but you live in Gaza.”
The claim is misleading. The image is not from Gaza; it dates back to 2014 and is part of a conceptual photography project by Saudi photographer Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi.
Using reverse image search via “Google Images,” kashif traced the photo to its original source. Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi first shared the image on his Instagram account on 6/1/2014, with the caption: “Some children may feel that the bodies of their deceased parents are more compassionate than living ones with hardened hearts. This is another photo with different editing—I hope you like it.”
Al-Otaibi later shared another photo of the same child in a different pose on 17/1/2014, captioned: “From the behind-the-scenes of the photo that was stolen and falsely attributed to a child in Syria.”
This same image circulated on social media in 2014 with claims that it depicted a Syrian child sleeping between the graves of their parents. However, Al-Otaibi clarified at the time that the image was part of his artistic work and unrelated to Gaza or Syria
As of January 2025, the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza has resulted in 46,584 deaths, including 17,841 children, and 109,731 injuries, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
| Sources of Claim | Sources of Verification |
| James KOBURNEي ن م المحامي عبدالرقيب القاضي almuhami eabdalraqib alqadi Fethi Ben Amor Ghada Mahmoud Elhenawy Said Hadibi محمد رييس mohamad al raes | 1 azezphoto azezphoto 2 Mohamed Gad BBC وزارة الصحة في قطاع غزة Ministry of Health |