A video which claims to reveal the manipulations of Hamas in the context of the war with Israel has also been massively relayed on X (formerly Twitter) in recent hours. “This is how Hamas creates propaganda videos,” for example, claims to warn a video published on TikTok on Monday October 9, which already has several hundred thousand views.
We can see that on the ground there is a child who looks injured, around him are people wearing kippahs as well as others with military clothing and firearms. A camera is carried on a telescopic arm, while the director gives directions to those present. We understand that we are dealing here with a film set.
Context hijacking
“In reality the ‘Israeli soldier’ is a Hamas agent who stole an Israeli military uniform from a soldier who was killed during the attacks,” says the text affixed to the video. They lie and try to manipulate the situation to their advantage, so that you believe they are the victims.”
In France, the Reconquest candidate in the last legislative elections and Center-Val-de-Loire Regional Councilor Cyril Hemardinquer also shared the video with the caption: “The Palestinians are starting to use the uniforms and weapons that they stole from Israel to film disinformation films while disguising themselves as Jews mistreating Arabs. » His publication, which had been viewed tens of thousands of times, has now been deleted.
FAKE OFF
The video was not filmed in the context of the clashes which have been going on since the Hamas attack this Saturday, October 7. A reverse image search helps identify the source of the video, the first trace of which 20 minutes identified dates back to April 21, 2022, on the TikTok account of Mohamad Awawdeh, who presents himself on his social networks as chief operator on film sets.
Among the many publications illustrating his work, we find this video accompanied by the caption (in Arabic): “Behind the scenes of the filming of the scene where the enemies of the settlers attack the child Ahmed Manasra”. The video is also online on his Instagram account, posted on June 30.
It is therefore impossible for these images to illustrate a staging by Hamas in the context of the current clashes.
As reported by the British news agency Reuters, this scene was filmed as part of a short film released on YouTube in April 2022, entitled Empty place and directed by Awni Eshtaiwe. The short film is an adaptation of the true story of Ahmed Manasra, who was hit by Israeli police when he was 13 years old and has been held in prison ever since. He is accused of stabbing two Israelis, along with his 15-year-old cousin, who was shot dead by police. The scene in the video, particularly the position of the bleeding boy on the ground with one leg bent, was inspired by real footage that was filmed by the media at the time.
Mohamad Awawdeh (who published the video on social networks) is also credited in the credits of the short film as a camera assistant.
A video used for contradictory purposes
The behind-the-scenes footage of the shooting is also used by some Internet users to accuse Israel of falsifying reality and staging violent images. A account (ex-Twitter) followed by more than 116,000 people as well as other accounts comment on “video showing Israel attempting to create false images of deaths”.