Image from Yemen shared as Palestinian child dragging body of sister killed by Israeli soldiers

(Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of distressing visuals and mentions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.)

What is the claim?

A distressing image of a boy dragging a girl’s body has been shared with the claim that it shows a Palestinian child dragging his sister’s body after Israeli soldiers shot her when they had gone to fetch water. One such post by a Facebook user (archived here) said, “For two years, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of being Nazis, until Israel had to show them what the true Nazis were.” The image is also circulating on X and TikTok with similar claims. Archived versions of the posts can be viewed here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of social media posts claiming that the image shows a Palestinian child being killed by Israel troops. (Source: X/TikTok/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, an old image from Yemen has been passed off as a recent photo from the Israel-Hamas war. 

What are the facts?

A reverse image search led us to a post with the same picture shared on X (formerly Twitter) by a local media outlet called Yemen Details on August 18, 2020. The post was captioned, “Breaking Hearts. Photo for a child pulling a little girl was killed by a Houthi sniper in #Yemen's Taiz city (sic).” 

A Google search led us to a report published by Middle East Monitor on August 18, 2020, which stated that a girl aged around nine or ten was shot by a Houthi sniper when she was out fetching water for her family. The girl was identified as Ruweida Saleh, and the report added that her brother was seen trying to rescue his injured sister by pulling her away from the scene. It said that the attack took place in the Al-Rawda area of Taiz, one of the largest cities in Yemen. The report also added that while many thought she was dead, the girl was said to have survived the attack.

A BBC video report published on February 16, 2021, also included this picture and noted that the girl’s brother Amri rescued his sister Ruweida to safety after she was shot in the head. The report added that she was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and that she was stable after two operations.

There has been conflict in Yemen ever since the Houthis seized control over the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, throwing out the internationally recognized government. A Washington Post report notes that a Saudi-led coalition intervened and has been trying to restore the internationally recognized government in the capital. The report added that Houthis control the majority of the country’s north and are backed by Iran. Multiple local media outlets have reported that there have been clashes between the Houthis and pro-government forces in which Houthis snipers have targeted civilians and children.    

The verdict 

An old image of a girl shot at by Houthis in Yemen is circulating with false claims that it shows a Palestinian kid killed by Israeli forces amid the ongoing war. The picture predates the war and is unrelated to the current conflict. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.