Video from 2013 Rabaa massacre passed off as Israeli bulldozers at Gaza hospital

Israeli forces have been accused of using a bulldozer to breach the perimeter of a location reportedly utilized by Hamas fighters, according to a Reuters report dated December 18, 2023. Al Jazeera covered an incident where Israeli soldiers allegedly used bulldozers to crush Palestinians, including patients, in the yard of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on December 16. Witnesses at the scene informed Al Jazeera that "people were deliberately buried alive using bulldozers."

What is the claim?

In this context, various visuals have surfaced on social media, claiming to be from the incident. One such low-resolution video showing a bulldozer sweeping over bodies wrapped in white sheets, tents, and over the surrounding area is claimed to be from the recent Kamal Adwan Hospital incident. Users on social media (archived here and here) have shared the video and captioned it: "Israeli bulldozers ran over displaced people and patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital." Another said (archived here) "#Footage of the #Israeli #bulldozer purposely running over #Palestinian #patients in the grounds of #KamalAdwan #Hospital"

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: Instagram/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false, and the incident reportedly shows an incident from the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in in August 2013. 

What are the facts?

A reverse image search revealed that the video dates back to 2013. On August 26, 2013, Al Jazeera Arabic uploaded the video with the caption, "A bulldozer sweeps away dozens of bodies of victims of the Rabaa massacre." The video description indicated that the footage showed the aftermath of the Rabaa massacre, where a bulldozer moved bodies during the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in on August 14.  

The video was found on AlJazeera (Source: YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

Another YouTube user posted the same video on September 4, 2013, with the description, "Army bulldozers run over bodies in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square."

Comparison of viral video to YouTube. (Source: YouTube/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Comparing the viral video with those from Al Jazeera and YouTube, similarities in the blue tent, bulldozer, silhouette of a man, and other elements were found, confirming that the viral video is from the same 2013 incident. Therefore, it is unrelated to the current Israel-Hamas conflict. 

What is the Rabaa massacre?

Human Rights Watch reported on August 12, 2014, about one of the deadliest incidents of mass protester killings when, 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 protest, the police attacked the pro-Morsy sit-in in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, Nasr City district of eastern Cairo. It reported they used "armored personnel carriers (APCs), bulldozers, ground forces, and snipers to attack at the makeshift protest encampment, where demonstrators, including women and children, were camping out for over 45 days. The attack led to the killing of over 1000s.

While we could not independently verify whether the viral video is from the Rabaa massacre incident, its existence online since 2013 makes it quite clear that it is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. 

The verdict

We have marked this claim as false as the video was used in a report from 2013 in connection with the Rabaa massacre that took place at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in 2013. The viral video has been falsely linked to the recent alleged ‘bulldozer incident’ at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza.