Old video of protesters breaching Israel’s border wall in 2021 claimed to be from 2023

By: Sam Doak
October 13 2023

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Context

On October 11, 2023, Khaled Meshaal, the former leader of Hamas, released a video in which he called for protests and residents of neighboring countries to join in the conflict the organization is currently engaged in with the state of Israel. 

While Meshaal does not currently lead Hamas, his statement was widely reported and raised fears among some concerning the expansion of the conflict. 

In this context, several verified X users began sharing a video showing a crowd climbing a wall. In the video, Palestinian flags are visible as individuals scale what appears to be a border fortification.

The narrative currently being attached to this video is that it shows protesters from Lebanon climbing the wall that separates the country from Israel. One X user summarised this claim, stating, “Lebanese Hamas supporters are reportedly climbing Israel's border wall, in answer to calls for a 'Global Day of Jihad' by former Hamas leader, Khalid Mashal.”

While numerous users claimed this video was recorded following Meshaal’s statement, Logically Facts has determined this is untrue. 

In fact 

The video in question has been circulating since at least May 2021. A TikTok video shared on May 15, 2021, a duet with a deleted account that uploaded this footage at an earlier date, contains the same footage that is now going viral, demonstrating that it is not recent.

A search for coverage of protests at the Lebanon-Israel border around this time reveals details concerning an incident that occurred close to the Lebanese town of Manara. 

A report published on May 17, 2021, by the Arabic-language outlet Soaldar states, “Israeli army forces fired live fire at Lebanese who approached the Palestinian border. Specifically in the town of Manara. According to the Palestinian media. A few days ago, Muhammad Tahan, 21 years old and residing in the village of Adloun in southern Lebanon, died from his wounds after being hit by Israeli fire as a result of an attempt by Lebanese demonstrators to cross the Palestinian border to support Jerusalem.”

It is possible to match the video to the incident described by comparing the image published by Soaldar and stills from the now-viral video. The placement of the wall segments, a structure on top of the wall, and a blue building in the background confirm that the image and the video were recorded in the same location. 

The verdict

This video has been circulating since May 2021. From coverage published by Arabic-language media, it is possible to determine that it shows an attempted border crossing that occurred around this time, not in recent days. This claim has therefore been marked as misleading.