No, this video does not show an Israeli bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession


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A graphic video shows an explosion at a funeral procession. But the incident was not orchestrated by Israeli forces, as social media users claimed.

“IsRealHell sent the body of a Palestinian martyr back to Palestine with a bomb embedded in the corpse!” text on a Sept. 12 Instagram video reads. “It exploded at the funeral procession, killing many mourners.”

False claim Palestinian funeral, 07/2012
Figure 1: False claim Palestinian funeral, 07/2012

Screenshot from Instagram

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But the video does not show a recent Palestinian funeral. It was taken during a July 2012 funeral procession in a suburb of Damascus, Syria, NBC reported then.

The man in the video, whom the Los Angeles Times identified as Abdul Hadi Halab, was wrapped in a Syrian revolutionary flag and had allegedly been killed by government forces. Opposition activists say a government-organized nearby car bombing caused the explosion during the funeral, CNN reported in 2012.

We rate the claim that a video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession False.

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

If your time is short

  • The video was taken during a funeral procession near Damascus, Syria in 2012, NBC reported.

  • Activists told CNN in 2012 that the explosion was caused by a Syrian government-organized car bombing.

Statement

A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession.

Context

an Instagram post

Speaker/Target

Statement Date

September 12, 2024
Our Sources

Instagram post (archived), Sept. 12, 2024

NBC News, Video shows attack on funeral procession in Syria, July 1, 2012

Los Angeles Times, In Syria, at least 85 killed by car bombing at funeral, June 30, 2012

CNN, World powers agree on steps for Syria; blast shatters funeral, July 1, 2012

Syrian Network for Human Rights, Documentation of Human Rights of Zamalka Massacre, June 30, 2012

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