Unrelated video from 2013 shared as Israeli forces firing inside Gaza's al-Shifa hospital

What is the claim?

A video of people trying to save themselves from gunfire inside what appears to be a hospital complex has been shared on social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook with the claim that it shows the Israeli Defence Forces firing inside the al-Shifa hospital—Gaza’s biggest medical complex. The video was shared with captions like, “We just received this video from inside the Al-Shifa Hospital where you can hear the shooting as Israeli Forces continue to gain more ground.” Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here, here, and here.

Social media posts claiming viral video shows Israel Defense Forces attacking the Al-Shifa hospital (Source: X, Facebook)

The Israeli Defense Forces did carry out a raid at the al-Shifa hospital on November 15, which continued on the second day as well. The raid comes days after Israel declared a complete siege on Gaza after being attacked by Hamas on October 7.  

Al Jazeera reported that doctors inside al-Shifa hospital alleged that gunshot sounds could be heard from all directions. Three premature babies in the hospital had died due to the lack of oxygen, while 36 premature babies had to be taken off incubators after Israeli shelling destroyed the oxygen supply a few days ago, the report added. Israeli Defense Forces did carry out a raid at the Al-Shifa hospital on November 15, 2023, after days of siege. Al Jazeera reported that doctors inside the hospital alleged that gunshot sounds could be heard from all directions. Three premature babies in the hospital have also died due to the lack of oxygen. However, the video shared on social media does not show this raid — it is from Egypt and old.

Where is the video from?

We found that a longer version of the same video was posted by the YouTube channel of the Arabic media website Rassd News Network on August 16, 2013. The video was shared with a title that translated roughly to “monitor | Heavy shooting at detainees at Rabaa Hospital on the day of the massacre” 

In August 2013, thousands of protestors took to the streets in Cairo to demand the reinstatement of democratically elected Mohamed Morsi as the president. After weeks of sit-in protests at the Rab’a al-Adawiya Square, the police launched an attack to disperse the protestors with armored vehicles and snipers on August 14, 2013. In a report, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the death toll at Rab’a al-Adawiya Square alone was at least 817 and the actual toll was likely above 1,000. The report noted that security forces also attacked the Rab’a Al-Adawiya Specialized Hospital and targeted anyone going in or out of the hospital.

Al Jazeera had reported that security forces were suspected of setting fire to a hospital and a mosque near the square on the same day. A video by HRW posted on August 12, 2014, titled “Egypt: Mass Killings by Security Forces,” also shows similar footage of the hospital being attacked. This confirms that the viral video is from 2013 in Cairo. We were able to match the features of the building seen in the viral video and the HRW video, showing that the incident happened in the same place.

Comparison of the video by HRW and the viral clip. (Source: HRW/Rassd News/Modified by Logically Facts)

We also came across a documentary by Al Jazeera posted on its YouTube channel on August 17, 2016. Titled “Massacre in Rabaa,” the documentary showed clips that captured scenes of chaos and injured people inside a hospital. Here, too, we could match features of the building from the viral clip, further confirming the location of the incident. The documentary was also about the events of August 14, 2013, when the Egyptian Security Forces attacked the Rabaa Field Hospital in Cairo. 

Comparison between the Al Jazeera documentary and the viral video. (Source: Al Jazeera/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The verdict

We have marked this claim as false as the video is from a Cairo hospital. The video captures an incident involving a crackdown by Egyptian Security Forces in August 2013 and does not show a recent attack by the IDF on the al-Shifa hospital.