Video does not show evacuation in Rafah in May 2024
The video does not show recent events
(Reuters) - A video showing people near Gaza City in November 2023 has been shared online as though it depicts the evacuation of Rafah in May 2024.
“Gazans evacuating from Rafah,” reads a May 6 Facebook post, sharing a screenshot of the video clip.
Israeli forces on May 7 seized the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza to Egypt, closing an aid route to the Palestinian enclave already on the brink of famine.
As of May 16, Israeli forces continued to pound Rafah. Egyptian sources said Cairo rejected an Israeli request to coordinate the reopening of the crossing fearing a mass exodus into Egypt.
A username @1GHUNAIM is visible in versions of the same video being shared on social media in Spanish.
According to its bio, the Instagram account @1GHUNAIM belongs to Gaza-based photographer Abdallah Ghunaim. He posted the video on November 8.
“People of Gaza from North to south, 8 Nov 2023,” the post says. Ghunaim did not respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported on November 9 that thousands of people had left Gaza City and moved south along Salah al-Din road, the only exit route at the time for civilians escaping the siege. Reuters photographed the exodus over the following days.
The same visual elements in the social media video can also be seen in Reuters, photographs taken on November 9 in the central Gaza strip, including an octagonal-shaped structure on the left and a yellow sign on the right.
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. A video shows people in Gaza in November 2023 and does not show people in Rafah in May 2024.
