Chaotic bulldozer video is from Egypt in 2013, not Kamal Adwan hospital | Fact check
Hannah HudnallThe claim: Video shows Israeli forces bulldozing Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza
A Dec. 18 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a red bulldozer crashing into a tent while bystanders scream.
"The first video released from Kamal Hospital, Gaza," reads on-screen text in the video, which was originally shared on TikTok. "Israeli soldiers are crushing patients at Kamal Hospital, Gaza with bulldozers."
The Instagram post garnered more than 300 likes in less than a day. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: False
The video is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. It was filmed during the Rabaa massacre in Egypt in 2013.
Video filmed in Egypt a decade before Israel-Hamas war
Israeli forces stormed into Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Dec. 12 after shelling it for days, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The United Nations reported that four days later, forces withdrew from the hospital and bulldozed tents housing displaced people outside the hospital.
The Facebook video doesn't show the Gaza hospital, however.
The footage was originally published on YouTube by Al Jazeera on Aug. 26, 2013. The title of the video says, "A bulldozer sweeps away dozens of bodies of victims of the Rabaa massacre" in Arabic, according to Google Translate.
Fact check: Video shows Israeli forces raising flags on roof of school, not Al Shifa Hospital
On Aug. 14, 2013, Egyptian military and security forces violently dispersed sit-ins in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda squares in what is now referred to as the Rabaa massacre, according to Amnesty International. The protest involved supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the ousted president Mohamed Morsi. More than 900 people were killed.
Human Rights Watch reported that Egyptian security forces used weapons such as bulldozers and snipers to attack the protesters' makeshift encampments.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The TikTok user couldn't be contacted.
Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- AlJazeera Arabic (YouTube), Aug. 26, 2013, A bulldozer sweeps away dozens of bodies of victims of the Rabaa massacre
- Amnesty International, Aug. 14, Egypt: ‘Decade of shame’ since hundreds killed with impunity in Rabaa massacre
- Human Rights Watch, Aug. 12, 2014, All According to Plan: The Rab’a Massacre and Mass Killings of Protesters in Egypt
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