False Claims Debunked: Viral Video of Baby Being Mourned in Palestine is Not a Toy, But a Deceased Infant Killed in Israeli Air Raids

Accident – death – Obituary News : Pankaj Menon, a fact-checker based in Delhi, is known for his expertise in “digital sleuthing” and debunking false information. With a Master’s degree in International Relations from Madras University, Menon has previously worked with reputable organizations such as NDTV, Times Now, and Deccan Chronicle online.

At Newschecker, Ruby takes charge of editorial work, operations, and initiatives. Prior to her current role, she held various positions at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network. As a news anchor, supervising producer, and senior output editor, Ruby has an impressive career spanning over a decade. She has reported from conflict zones, covered terror incidents, election campaigns, and addressed gender issues. Ruby’s exceptional work has even earned her an Emmy nomination. She has handled both local and international assignments, including coverage of the Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reporting on the Kashmir issue since 2009.

Recently, a video went viral on social media, showing a man holding up what appeared to be a dead baby. Newschecker closely examined the video and noticed a watermark belonging to an Instagram handle called ‘omar_aldirawi’. Investigating further, they discovered an Instagram page belonging to a Palestinian journalist named Omar Aldirawi. On December 1, 2023, Aldirawi had posted the same video with a caption that translated to: “A mother bid farewell to her martyr child, who was no more than 5 months old and was one of the targets of the occupation. This morning after it violated the truce.”

Upon analyzing the comment section of the posts claiming that the video featured a plastic baby, Newschecker found a user who shared an image from Getty Images. The image showed the same baby, and the caption credited it to Anadolou, a state-run news agency based in Turkey. The caption also identified the child as 5-month-old Muhammad Hani Al Zahar and mentioned the photographer, Ali Jadallah.

Further investigation led Newschecker to discover several similar images on Getty Images, depicting the deceased child being mourned by his mother and grandfather. They also found the Instagram page of the photographer, which featured a similar photograph. The caption of this image provided further details, stating that the 5-month-old Palestinian baby named Muhammad Hani Al-Zahar’s dead body was brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital by his mother and grandfather after Israeli airstrikes at the end of a humanitarian pause in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on December 1, 2023. Within three hours of the pause ending, 32 Palestinians were killed.

In conclusion, Newschecker determined that the claims suggesting the baby in the viral video was a plastic doll were false. The baby was indeed a 5-month-old Palestinian infant who lost his life during one of the Israeli air raids on Gaza.

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Pankaj Menon’s expertise in fact-checking and his passion for uncovering misinformation, combined with Ruby’s extensive experience in news production and reporting, make them a formidable team at Newschecker. Their dedication to ensuring accurate information reaches the public is commendable..