2022 video shared as Israel recently blocking ambulances reaching the wounded in Gaza

What’s the claim?

Users on social media are circulating a video clip purporting to show the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) obstructing ambulances that were meant to reach and help injured people in conflict-struck Gaza. An Instagram post carrying the video has an overlaid text that reads, “This is not a War!! This is a Genocide!! IOF blocking ambulances from reaching the injured.” An archived version of the post can be found here.

Screenshot of claims made online (Source: Instagram/Facebook/Modified by Logically facts)

However, the video is old and has nothing to do with the current situation in Gaza.

What did we find?

Logically Facts conducted a reverse image search on the viral video’s keyframes and found the video to be over a year old and shot in West Bank’s Nablus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent had shared the same video clip on their official Facebook page on December 7, 2022. The clip was captioned, “A video showing the obstruction of Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances and the delay in the arrival of crews to the injured in Nablus today by the occupation forces.”

On December 7, 2022, the Palestine News and Information Agency WAFA also shared the video with the caption alleging that Israeli forces obstructed medical teams from accessing the old town in Nablus during a military operation in which three Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire.

A Palestine-focused news network, Al-Watan Voice, aired a news report featuring the video, reporting that on December 7, 2022, a civilian sustained minor injuries from live bullets to the head and back and was transported to Rafidia Hospital for treatment. Additionally, two other individuals were wounded by shrapnel. Ambulances ferrying the injured were temporarily obstructed by Israeli soldiers, causing a delay in treatment.

Although the video shows Israeli forces obstructing medical teams from reaching the injured, the clip is old. 

The verdict

The video dates back to December 2022 and shows the obstruction of Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances and the delay in the arrival of medical crews to the injured in Nablus. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.