Old video from Syria shared as Israel bombing a hospital in Gaza

By: Ishita Goel
November 3 2023

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Screenshots of X, Facebook posts claiming that the attached video shows the Israel bombing hospital (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

CCTV footage from inside a hospital, purportedly showing an explosion on the premises, has gone viral on social media. The viral video shows several people being affected by the blasts. Social media users alleged that the footage shows Israeli forces causing an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, with "no Hamas terrorists present."

The video was shared by Facebook and X users with the caption, "ISRAEL was CAUGHT on camera BOMBING the Al-Sadaqa HOSPITAL. Not a single 'Hamas terrorist in sight,' only hospital workers and patients." Archived versions of these posts can be found here and here.

Similarly, another user on X wrote (archived link), "Moments of the World's Worst Creature Bombing Gaza's Cancer Hospital. People who cut throats to kill dogs and cats were suffocating in those days."

Screenshot of the viral claims circulating online (Source: TikTok/X/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

What are the facts?

We found no reports online of any attacks on a hospital named Al-Sadaqa during the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Furthermore, through a reverse image search, we found that the video dates back to 2016.

The official YouTube channel of the Syrian Network for Human Rights posted an extended version of the video on August 9, 2016, with the caption, "Aleppo- Al Ma'adi: destruction of Omar Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital due to regime shelling P3, 16 7 2016."

The Arabic description of the video, when translated to English, said, 'Government warplanes bombed the vicinity of Omar bin Abdulaziz Field Hospital in the Maadi neighborhood of Aleppo with missiles. It added that the hospital in Aleppo, which was under the control of the opposition at the time, went out of service due to damage to the building and equipment. 

Likewise, Aleppo Media Center (AMC) posted the same extended video on Facebook on July 31, 2016, with the caption, "Moments documenting the crime: The air strike that targeted Omar bin Abdulaziz Hospital with several raids on the same day in mid-July."

We compared the frames of the viral video to those in the AMC video and matched the woman in the burqa and the man in the chair seen at 0:01 in the viral video to the scene at the 0:51 timestamp in the AMC video. Similarly, a man seen lying on the bed at the 0:04 mark in the viral video can be seen at the 1:30 mark in the AMC video. Several other frames can also be matched to the AMC video. 

Comparison of video frames of the AMC video and the viral clip. (Source: Facebook/X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

We noted that the viral video was cropped out of the extended version posted by AMC. Video frames are cut down, and only a few frames are shown in the viral video.

Further, in some posts, we could compare the inlaid texts in the video in Arabic. At the 0:16 timestamp of the viral video, the text reads, "The raid caused major damage." The same text can be seen in the AMC video at the 1:12 timestamp. Further, we could match the text at 0:18 in the viral video and the AMC video at 1:22, referring to hospital service and recovery. 

Comparison of the text in the video frame of the AMC video and the viral clip. (Source: Facebook/X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Additionally, in the AMC video, we can see the timestamp of the CCTV footage reading 16/07/2016, showing it was recorded on July 16, 2016. Logically Facts could not independently verify that the footage shows an attack on Omar bin Abdulaziz Hospital in Aleppo. However, as the video has been online since 2016, it clearly predates the conflict and is unrelated to it.

Attack in Syria in 2016

World Health Organization published a report on the attack on the hospital on July 19, 2016. They said on July 16, Omar Ibn Abdel Aziz Hospital was attacked, and a number of medical staff were reportedly injured. The hospital had been hit three times in 45 days between June and July 2016, the report noted.

In November 2016, The Guardian reported that the medical system had been systematically targeted by Russian and regime jets over the year.

The Israel-Hamas conflict

On October 30, 2023, DW reported that the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) stated they have received threats from Israeli forces to evacuate Gaza's Al-Quds hospitals. Al Jazeera reported that the threat comes even as Israel has bombed several hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

PRCS has expressed concerns because the hospital is currently providing care to hundreds of injured patients, including those in intensive care units and newborns in incubators.

The verdict

An old video, reportedly showing a bombing and destruction at a hospital in Syria in July 2016, is being presented as evidence of an Israeli bombing in Gaza during the ongoing conflict with Hamas.