Hoax alert: Video showing “Hamas using children as human shields” is from Syria

Ali Abunimah 18 July 2014

Update: 17 May 2021

In the context of Israel’s current bombardment of Gaza, online propagandists are once again sharing the video discussed in this article, claiming it was filmed in Gaza recently.

It is years old and from Syria. While the copies of the video included in the original article below appear to have been removed from YouTube, other copies still exist on this site, including this one, posted on 6 November 2014. That suffices to establish that the video pre-exists by years the current situation in Gaza.

Original article

As the number of atrocities in which Israel kills children in Gaza mounts, Israel advocates are getting more desperate to find justifications for the slaughter.

Many are sharing the above video titled “Hamas using children as human shields.” But the video is not from Palestine. It is actually from Syria. It was first posted to YouTube at least five months ago.

Uploaded to YouTube by user “ziv121213” only yesterday, it has been disseminated widely on social media and already has tens of thousands of views. This is an example of how it is being shared on Twitter:

The video shows a man firing a mortar. Behind him is a group of small children huddled with an older man.

This version carries a logo in Hebrew at the bottom right of the screen that says Kikar HaShabbat, the name of an Israeli news website oriented toward Orthodox Jews.

But I was not able to find any trace of the video or a related story on that site. It could have been published there and later removed, or the logo of Kikar HaShabbat could have been added to the video by a hoaxster in order to give it added credibility in the eyes of an audience that would be receptive to material from Kikar HaShabbat.

Original video from Syria

This version was posted on 12 February 2014 with the title “** MUST SEE ** Syrian Kids Launching Mortar Together!”

The description states “After the brutal SAF-Barrel Bomb Attacks these syrian kids decide to give a answer to assad.”

“SAF” is presumably a reference to the Syrian air force and Assad is of course Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In the video, the man crouching with the children can be heard shouting slogans against Bashar al-Assad, another obvious indication that this video has absolutely nothing to do with Hamas or Gaza.

Account metadata and Internet searches suggest that the YouTube user who posted the video with the title “Hamas using children as human shields” is in Israel.

While the user could not be traced back to any organized propaganda initiative, the Israeli government is currently supporting a massive online propaganda effort to justify its assault on Gaza.

Social media users should therefore be vigilant about the sourcing of information they share.

Tags

Comments

picture

Name replied on

Hamas does use civilians as human shields. Just not these individuals

picture

adi replied on

Israel has used the whole palestinian nation, woman and children as human shield.. that is the proper way of thinking!

picture

Just Me replied on

Israel used Palestinian persons as a shield?

Please enlighten us by telling us and against whom have they used them?

picture

Anonymous replied on

Check the reference mate before you say anything also wikipedia is not reliable source I can edit it now while we speak ... strange last edit was 20 hours ago ...did you do it you before you comment ? Eventhou those are whats lift from their family and they are evacuating under fire ... if you have another way protect your family please share from your cumfy chair

picture

John replied on

...the "continuous use of Palestinian children as human shields and informants", saying 14 such cases had been reported between January 2010 and March 2013 alone.

Israeli soldiers had used Palestinian children to enter potentially dangerous buildings before them and to stand in front of military vehicles to deter stone-throwing, it said.

"Almost all those using children as human shields and informants have remained unpunished and the soldiers convicted for having forced at gunpoint a nine-year-old child to search bags suspected of containing explosives only received a suspended sentence of three months and were demoted," it said.

http://www.reuters.com/article...

picture

Anonymous replied on

Come up with something better my friend. Throwing around baseless statements does not do anything.

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...

On the other hand there is countless documented evidence of Israel using human shields:

http://www.reuters.com/article...

http://www.theguardian.com/wor...

http://electronicintifada.net/...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

And I could keep going on. But i have better things to do then argue with a wall.

The occupied has the right to resist the occupier. Just like the Jews in Europe resisted the Nazis, so too will the Palestinians resist the Zionist terrorists. Don't expect to steal someones land and kill them and think that they will sit idly by.

picture

Anonymous replied on

Thank you for telling it ...we all feel the same as you .. its sad and frustrating as if a child can shield anyone from a tank or explosive ... I wish the people would see the pictures of the massacres before they say anything ... bombing hospitals and mosques and civilian houses . More than 1000child was brutaly killed over the last 10 years . Lets not forget there is no army in palestine and who they are fighting are the civilians ..thousands of palestenian children and women died compared to few israeli solders ... shame on all of us

picture

Stop lying replied on

as you lied this time surment you lie repeatedly.

picture

Except.. replied on

It does not. Hamas is not in the sand where the 4 kids were murdered in the open. Or in the birds where the kids feeding them on the roof were murdered. If Israel is acting surgically, then it is surgically removing kids and committing warcrimes. Otherwise, it is acting recklessly and committing warcrimes. Israel uses lie and deflection shields like the hasbara.

picture

MA replied on

USA Vito on all UN decisions and humanitarian activities is the only way Israel was able to get away with all their committed War Crimes since it was established 60 years ago ...... these crimes will only stop when the USA will stop sponsoring the Palestinian Holocaust ....

picture

adi replied on

Israel has use the whole palestinian nation woman and children as human shield.. that is the proper way of thinking!

picture

John Costello replied on

There are far too many rationale in this article to answer here and many would remain completely speculative anyway but the basic question for me as regards honest intentions is; if Israel were truly interested in undermining Hamas, why wouldn't they give the PA and Abbas a few victories? It's pure speculation mind you but I believe Israel needs Hamas like a B movie needs the bad guy. Without him the show would be over and the audience would return to real life. Hamas probably could act to risk fewer Palestinian lives but they would basically be fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. Just because they can't win is why the Israeli right say's they should all pack up and move to Jordan.

picture

Freelance replied on

Lets not forget Abbas rejects Olmert's offer to withdraw from 93% of West Bank and the southern Israeli Negev desert, adjacent to the Gaza Strip, compensating for 5.5% of the 7% of the West Bank that Israel wants to annex. Abbas is a decent man, but not a brave leader.

picture

john costello replied on

Yes, like Barak's offer to Arafat. It's a little unnerving that these leaders are labeled "rejectionists", bad peace partners or unimaginative, weak, cowardly or what have you, on the basis of these last minute - last chance offers. They plod through months of negotiations while Israel's army, police, settlers or lawmakers peck away at their constituencies, weakening the leaders and dividing the people. Barak's offer was certainly in another universe from anything achievable with Israel today but let's not forget that it was an offer that, after being refused by Abbas was roundly refused by the majority of the supporters of Israel as having been unacceptable and there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip. Honestly, I view offers like that as ruses.
Now if a fair broker were to pick them up and run with them, through the battery of negotiations it would take to realize them, than maybe you'd have a point.

picture

Anonymous replied on

Its their land where can they go . And they are sorrounded and no where to go .. mybe you dont understand ... they are trapped inside beside if they lift isnt that what israel wants ... explaning to pro-israel people is useless cuz they want muslim to die no matter if they were children or women because they are rasist and fashist as zionist ... watch on twitter the last masscre pics of children then imagine your own kids ... I bet you wont cuz you know the truth but you choose to go pubs and forget about it

picture

Jaz replied on

This should come as no surprise that David Vance is caught peddling lies. Vance is a notorious extremist who had a website he ran closed down because of its extreme racist content.

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.