Clip shows Egyptian paratroopers in training, not Hamas militants infiltrating Israel

“This was how Hamas Militants parachuted into Israel territory in Southern Israel,” reads text on a video published on Instagram on October 9, 2023.

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Screenshot showing the false post, taken on October 10, 2023

The video has been viewed more than 18,000 times.

Two days before the post was published, the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out one of its most significant attacks on Israel in years, killing more than a thousand people on the streets, at a festival and in their homes, while seizing 150 Israeli and foreign hostages (archived here).

Hamas governs the densely-populated Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, which has been under a land, air and sea blockade since 2006.

The surprise incursion was launched at dawn and saw hundreds of Hamas fighters cross the Israeli border as a barrage of rockets was fired from Gaza (archived here).

Israel retaliated by launching airstrikes targeting militant sites in Gaza and cutting off supplies of water, electricity and food. The death toll in Gaza, according to authorities, has passed 1,500 and continues to rise on both sides.

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Map showing the densely populated Gaza Strip and some of the towns in Israel

Although some Hamas fighters used aerial routes across the border, the clip does not show them entering Israel with parachutes.

Clip from Egypt

AFP Fact Check first debunked the claim in Arabic and found that the footage was taken in Egypt, not Israel (archived here).

By conducting reverse image searches, AFP Fact Check established the video was filmed in front of the Military Academy in Cairo, Egypt. The front of the building can be seen on Google Maps (archived here).

There are several identifiers on the building including the words “military college” in Arabic, the institution’s logo and the Egyptian flag.

These match the features of the building seen in the social media clip. Other matching markers include a flag atop the entrance and the distinctive pillars in the front.

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A comparison of the Military Academy building on Google Maps (left) and a screenshot from the clip

Using a reverse image search on a screenshot from the video, we found a longer version of the clip published on TikTok on September 24, 2023 -- two weeks before the current conflict began -- without any reference to Israel or Palestinian militants.

However, AFP Fact Check has not yet been able to verify exactly when the video was filmed.

The renewed fighting between Israel and Palestine has generated a wave of misinformation online. You can follow our coverage here.