By: Emmi Kivi
April 3 2024
2021 image of Israeli airstrikes shared as recent bombing of the Gaza Strip
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Source: X/Instagram
Fact-Check
The Verdict Misleading
The image was captured in 2021 and shows Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City; it is unrelated to the current Israel-Hamas conflict.
What is the claim?
As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, Israel carries out airstrikes, with recent reports of apparent Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip. Social media users shared an image of large explosions at night in an apartment district with the claim it shows recent bombings amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. The photo was shared with the caption: “Birth place of Jesus is getting bombed on Easter.” Since at least the second century AD, people have believed that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, South of Jerusalem.
However, Logically Facts found that the footage is unrelated to the current Israeli-Hamas conflict. The image was captured in 2021 and shows Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City.
What did we find?
A reverse image search led us to multiple search results dating back to May 2021. This included a Times of Israel article, published May 17, 2021, with the headline "IDF hits Hamas tunnels in massive strikes on Gaza as ceasefire pressure mounts.” The article contains the same picture as the viral post.
Left: The viral photo. Right: The Times of Israel article published on May 17, 2021, with the same image. (Source: X/The Times of Israel/Screenshots/Modified my Logically Facts)
According to the article, Israel launched wide-scale overnight airstrikes at several locations in the Gaza Strip. Below the image, the caption states, “Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City as Israeli warplanes carry out strikes, early on May 17, 2021.” The image predates and is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. In 2021, Easter Sunday was on April 4.
In early May 2021, tensions escalated into violence in the Gaza Strip as Israel responded to Hamas rockets with artillery bombardments and airstrikes in the fiercest fighting since 2014. After eleven days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, with both sides claiming victory.
The verdict
The image does not show the bombing of the Gaza Strip during Easter 2024. It was captured in 2021 and is unrelated to the current Israel-Hamas conflict. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.