Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Video of Barcelona protests unrelated to Israel-Hamas war

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on October 23, 2023 at 18:56
  • Updated on October 24, 2023 at 20:10
  • 3 min read
  • By AFP USA

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A video on social media purports to show pro-Palestinian protesters and police in Barcelona after a deadly strike on a Gaza Strip hospital in October 2023. While demonstrations have sprung up in some Western cities, the footage is unrelated to the war between Israel and Hamas; it depicts clashes with Spanish security forces over coronavirus restrictions in 2020.

"REPORTS: Police struggle to contain protesters in Barcelona following #Gaza hospital strike," says state-controlled news network Russia Today in an October 17, 2023 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Screenshot of an RT post on X taken October 20, 2023

The clip spread across X, Telegram and Facebook following protests over an October 17 strike that left scores of bodies and charred cars in northern Gaza's Ahli Arab hospital.

The blast took place 10 days after Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed at least 1,400 people -- mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials. Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area under attack.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said October 23 that more than 5,000 people had been killed in the besieged Palestinian enclave since Israel launched its withering bombing campaign in response to the assault -- the worst in the country's history.

Both Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the hospital strike, but neither the provenance of the blast nor the death toll could be independently verified. The Gaza health ministry said at least 471 people were killed, while US intelligence estimates the death toll is between 100 and 300.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have rallied in major cities around the world -- including in Spain -- since the start of the war, but the video shared online is unrelated to the conflict.

A reverse image search surfaced a November 1, 2020 article from the Daily Mail about protests against coronavirus curfews in Barcelona (archived here). The story includes footage identical to the clip shared online.

Screenshot taken October 20, 2023 of a video in a Daily Mail article

The Daily Mail credited the video to Jam Press, a UK media agency that sources online content.

A keyword search on X found the clip was published the weekend of the protests, which occurred on two consecutive nights in which police made dozens of arrests.

AFP contacted the account that shared the footage for comment, but a response was not forthcoming.

Another video published October 30 in a Spanish X post appears to show the same scene from another angle.

Screenshot taken October 24, 2023 of a video on X, with elements highlighted by AFP
Screenshot taken October 24, 2023 of a video on X, with elements highlighted by AFP

 

 

AFP has debunked other misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war here.

October 24, 2023 This article was updated in the 12th paragraph to add additional details about the Barcelona protests.
October 24, 2023 This article was updated in the 10th paragraph to correct when an X post was published.

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