Western accounts promote an Iraqi entertainment video claiming that it is of a Palestinian claiming to be injured in Gaza

Western accounts supporting Israel circulated a video clip on X, claiming that it shows a young man in Gaza pretending to be a victim and injured, but accidentally using the foot he claims is broken to walk on. The claim adds: “The media is lying to us about what is happening in Gaza. Why do they need to act if there is a real genocide?” 

The Palestinian Observatory “Tahaqaq” verified the truth of the circulated video and the attached claims, through searching public sources, and it turned out that the circulated scene is incorrect and was filmed in the city of Najaf, southwest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and was previously published via the account of an Iraqi user named Haider Al-Akraa on the “Instagram” website on December 8.

To clarify the details of the video clip, the Observatory team contacted the owner of the video, Haider Al-Akraa, who explained to “Tahaqaq” that the circulated clip is a dramatic scene that was filmed in the Najaf area for entertainment purposes only, and that it has nothing to do with Gaza or the current events there.

War in Gaza: Rising Casualties and Worsening Human Suffering

The video is being circulated amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip since the events of October 7, 2023, when Gaza witnessed a major military escalation that led to massive human and material losses. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of December 12, the number of Palestinian martyrs had reached 44,835, in addition to 106,350 others injured. Official reports indicate that children constitute a large percentage of the victims, representing about 33%, while women constitute 21%.

The military operations have caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, including hospitals and health centers, creating a severe humanitarian crisis. According to UNRWA, 1.9 million people, or 90% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced from their homes, some of them repeatedly. Thirty-four hospitals and 68 health centers have been destroyed, and 131 ambulances have been put out of service, exacerbating the suffering of the civilian population. In addition, the Strip is suffering from severe shortages of food and humanitarian aid, as the ongoing fighting has hampered relief efforts and worsened the living conditions of the population.

It is noteworthy that Western and pro-Israel accounts continue to cast doubt on the suffering of Palestinians due to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, under the hashtags “Pallywood” and “Gaza Wood”. The two campaigns seek to cast doubt on the suffering of Palestinians by claiming that photos and videos documenting crimes and violations in Gaza are fabricated. These campaigns rely on highlighting simple details or technical errors in some clips to confirm their claims, and they generalize individual errors such as using old footage or dramatized scenes to suggest that all Palestinian content is unreliable. In addition, terms such as “Pallywood” and “Gaza Wood” are used, which aim to minimize the scale of the tragedy and portray it as a propaganda campaign. The Palestinian Observatory “Tahaqaq” has previously highlighted such misleading reports.