Fact Check: Viral video showing bomb being dropped on a group of children is NOT related to Israel-Hamas war

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has so far claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people in Israel and nearly 2,700 people in Gaza. Meanwhile, an aerial video of a bomb being dropped near a fuel plant is going viral on social media. Many people on social networks believe that Israel dropped bombs on children in Gaza.

We found a video posted on October 22 where an X user shared a video and wrote: “War criminal Zionist state Israel bombs Palestine children gathered near a water tank in East Gaza for water when the Israeli enemy fired firebombs from the sky at them! Genocide of Palestine #genocideinpalestine @jacksonhinklle

An Instagram user Hesham Albarakani posted a video on October 23 captioning it: “Watch the crime and hatred of the Israeli occupation for the children of Gaza. A group of children gather at the eastern Gaza water reservoir to get drinking water, and the Israeli enemy spies on them from the air and throws a burning bomb on them and kills them...”

The video was widely shared on Facebook, Instagram, X and on other social media platforms with similar claims.

FACT CHECK

By performing a reverse image search of the key frames in the video, we found a similar image in a tweet from Sudan News, October 12, 2023. According to the tweet, this viral video originated from Sudan, and on translation of the text posted in the tweet, it read: “An army march targeting a group of Rapid Support militia mercenaries, who gathered to refuel their motorcycles”

The same video was also found on the official Facebook user named Al Jazeera – Sudan posted a story dated October 12, with a caption: “A Sudanese army march bombed a fuel tanker belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum #video #Aljazeera Sudan.”

According to Amnesty International, the conflict has raged for six months between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), leaving at least 5,000 civilians dead and more than 12,000 injured. People were forced to relocate.

Therefore, the viral video has originated from Sudan and is NOT related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.