What was claimed
Footage shows a targeted attack by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Palestinian civilians who were gathered around a water tank.
Our verdict
False. The video shows a bomb being dropped near fuel tanks in Sudan.
Aerial footage shows a bombing in Sudan, not Gaza
8 November 2023
A video claiming to show a targeted explosion on civilians in Gaza trying to get water has been circulating on social media. However, the clip actually comes from a bombing on fuel tanks in Sudan.
The video [WARNING: graphic content], which has been shared on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, shows aerial footage of a bomb falling from the sky and detonating next to some large white tanks and a crowd of people.
Multiple posts have shared the footage alongside the caption: “Palestinians in Gaza rushed to the water tanks to draw the last of what was left in them, so they gathered around the water pipe to fill their bottles with whatever remaining water was available. Israel Defense Force (IDF) took advantage with a bomb dropped directly above them to kill them. Spread this clip so that people know about the barbarism and atrocity committed by Israel.”
However, the video does not show recent events in Gaza—it shows a bombing in Sudan.
An earlier version of the clip was posted on Facebook by news organisation Al Jazeera on 12 October with the caption: “Sudanese army drone targets Rapid Support Forces fuel tanker in Khartoum” (translated by Reuters).
The video was also shared elsewhere online, including by outlets such as Sudan Akhbar and Sudan News, which described it as showing an army airstrike on a “group of Rapid Support militia mercenaries, who gathered to refuel their motorcycles.”
There have been clashes between the Sudanese army and the country’s main paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), since mid-April. Violence has intensified since the RSF advanced to consolidate its control of the capital, Khartoum, in October.
The video reportedly shows the Jet Fuel Depot near Khartoum International Airport.
Full Fact has written about many other videos falsely claiming to show recent events in Gaza, but that actually come from locations including Syria, Bahrain, Algeria and Ukraine. You can find more of our work countering misinformation relating to the conflict here, as well as our guide Israel-Gaza conflict: How to fact check misleading videos.
Image courtesy of Aamirco
