Old Gaza video falsely shared as Russia strike on Ukraine
- Published on June 1, 2026 at 06:55
- 2 min read
- By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand
After Russia deployed its nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile in one of its largest barrages of missiles and drones in the war against Ukraine in May 2026, an old video circulated online with a false claim it was filmed during the strikes. The clip previously appeared in a September 2025 news report, credited to a photojournalist in Gaza who told AFP it was filmed in the Palestinian territory.
"This is the sound from Russian troops' Oreshnik missile hitting Kyiv last night," reads a Facebook post in Thai shared on May 25, 2026.
The attached nine-second video was filmed at night from inside a building shaken by an explosion, with orange flares visible outside the window.
The video circulated on Facebook, X and TikTok in posts written in various languages after Russia said on May 24 it had fired a nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile at Ukraine in massive overnight strikes (archived link).
The attack killed at least four people, with multiple rounds of loud explosions heard in the capital in the early hours of the morning.
Russia said it launched the missile without its nuclear warhead, saying the strike was "in response to Ukraine's terrorist attacks" on civilian infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as "genuinely deranged", while the Ukrainian air force said the raid involved 600 drones and 90 missiles, of which 549 drones and 55 missiles were intercepted.
But the circulating video is not related to the Russian strikes.
A reverse image search using the video's keyframes on Google led AFP to a clip posted on YouTube by news site Middle East Eye on September 21, 2025 (archived link).
"A video taken from inside a building in Gaza shows the sheer intensity of Israel's attacks, with strikes hitting back-to-back in rapid succession," reads the caption.
"The footage highlights the dangers endured by Palestinians trying to survive in the blockaded enclave."
The video is credited to the Instagram account @khaled_al_sabbah, which is owned by Gazan activist and photojournalist Khaled Alsabbah.
Alsabbah uploaded the footage on September 21 after the Israeli military warned it would operate with "unprecedented force" in Gaza City in the northern part of the territory and told residents to evacuate to the south (archived here and here).
"GA-ZA NOW pray for our families," he wrote in the caption, adding in the comments: "Painful, but important to share. Israel's most powerful weapon is your silence."
Alsabbah -- who frequently shares content documenting life in Gaza -- told AFP via an Instagram message that the video was filmed "in north Gaza" (archived here and here).
An AFP journalist watched the video and detected a faint voice saying "there is only one God" in Arabic -- a phrase commonly said by Muslims in moments of danger or distress.
More of our reporting on misinformation around the war in Ukrain can be found here.
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