Fact check: Viral video said to be of Hamas chief’s last moment is from November 2023
Multiple social media users were sharing a video on Wednesday claiming it showed the final moments of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh before his assassination. However, the viral video was from an unrelated incident last year of a Palestinian being treated for his injuries by medical staff.
Haniyeh was a prominent figure in Palestinian group Hamas, serving as the head of its political bureau, in which role he was crucial in shaping the group’s strategy and policies.
Haniyeh was visiting Tehran on July 31 to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian when a projectile struck his accommodation at 2am, killing him and one of his guards.
Advocate Mona Javed, the vice president of the PML-N’s Punjab lawyers wing, shared a video a day ago with the caption: “The last words of martyr Ismail Haniyeh, a few moments before his martyrdom, may God have mercy on him.”
The video showed an injured and bloodied man being treated for his injuries and getting his face cleaned up by what looked to be medical staff. Other people, including a woman with a child on her shoulder, can also be seen in the background.
The post gained over 400,000 views.
Another X user, who appeared to be a PTI supporter based on his past posts, also shared the video with the caption: “Ismail Haniyeh’s last words in Iran say: Help the Muslims of Gaza.”
The post racked up over 330,000 views.
The video was also shared by multiple other X users, as can be seen here, here, here, here and here.
The video was also shared on YouTube here, here, here and here.
A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest since it pertained to the assassination of a high-profile political figure in the Gaza crisis whose death has raised concerns about a broader outbreak of violence in the region.
Conducting a reverse image search using screenshots from the video led to a website for a video subscription service hosting it at least eight months ago around November and December 2023.
A further search yielded the video on Arabic news aggregator website Nabd on November 6, 2023, with the caption: “As he bleeds, a Palestinian raises his index finger high and chants, ‘We are all with the resistance … a steadfastness that you will only find in Gaza. Gaza resists and will win.’”
With the timeframe narrowed down, a search for posts about the video from November 6, 2023, yielded X posts sharing it with the same caption as that on the Nabd website, as can be seen here and here.
Lastly, the imagery in the video does not match the description of Haniyeh’s assassination. The Hamas chief and one of his guards were killed via a projectile hit to his accommodation in Iran while the video shows a bloodied man being treated for his injuries by medical staff and a woman with a child is also seen — all elements that have not been reported anywhere in the mainstream media about Haniyeh’s assassination.
Therefore, the fact check determined that the claim regarding an alleged video of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s last moments and words before his death was false. The video was an old and unrelated one from November 2023 showing an injured Palestinian being treated for his injuries by medical staff.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ and UNDP.