Image doesn't show Israel PM with deceased IDF general 'Irwin Baran' – No such person exists!

What’s the claim?

An image circulating on social media shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an Israeli soldier, purportedly General Irwin Baran, who was allegedly killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. A Facebook user captioned the photo (archived here), “It has been reported that General Irwin Baran, of the Israeli Special Operations and Incursions Brigade, has been killed. Another genocidal Israel murder is wiped out (sic).”

The claim has also spread on X (formerly Twitter) with a similar caption, “Israel only negotiates once it begins taking losses in the battlefield. Tonight, it has been reported that General Irwin Baran, of the Israeli Special Operations and Incursions Brigade, has been laid to rest by the Gazans (sic).” An archived version of the post can be accessed here.

Screenshot of the viral claim. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

This claim, however, is false. The soldier in the image is not General Irwin Baran, and there is no credible evidence of an Israeli soldier by that name.

What we found

A reverse image search by Logically Facts led to a November 13, 2023, Facebook post from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. The post includes multiple images, including the viral image, albeit without the red cross seen in the shared posts. According to the caption, the photo was taken when Netanyahu visited the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Desert Patrol Battalion 585 under the Southern Brigade's command. 

In the post's lengthy caption, the fourth paragraph addressed the soldier seen in the picture. The paragraph reads, “The Prime Minister was briefed on the activity of the unit by Acting Battalion Commander Lt.-Col. Nader Eyadat and spoke with the commanders on the combat they led on October 7 in clearing the area. Prime Minister Netanyahu also heard from Assistant Company Commander Topaz Hajbi and Reserve Acting Company Commander Mahmoud Hiv on the combat they led from their residences in the south.”

The viral image was also featured prominently in a press release issued by the Israeli government. According to the press release, the prime minister was briefed on the unit's operations by the "battalion's acting commander," Lieutenant Colonel Nader Eyadat. There is no mention of any official named Irwin Baran. 

Screenshot of the press release by the Government of Israel. (Source: Government of Israel)

A Google search with the keywords ‘Irwin Baran’ yielded no relevant results. The soldier's two-star rank (as seen in the photo) indicates that he is a Lieutenant Colonel, not a General.

Screenshot of Israeli Defense Forces website on ranks in the Israeli army. (Source: IDF)

No reports exist of an Israeli general or soldier named Irwin Baran dying in the ongoing conflict. As of November 22, 2023, 68 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza ground offensive since October 27, according to a Times of Israel article.

The verdict

There is no record of an individual named Irwin Baran serving as a general in the Israel Defense Forces, nor reports of such a person's death in Gaza. The person in the image is Lt.-Col. Nader Eyadat.