A video showing a disturbed child clinging to a tree is viral online with the false claim that he was rescued recently from Gaza. BOOM found that the claims are false and the video is from a recent flood in Tajikistan and unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
On October 7, 2023, Islamist militant group Hamas launched an attack into southern Israel from Gaza. The conflict has led to retaliatory strikes from Israel, and at least 4,000 lives have been lost so far. An explosion at the Al-Ahli hopsital in Gaza has significantly contributed to the death toll, and both Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the attack. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) proposed a temporary halt in the conflict for the passage of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was favoured by 12 countries including China, Japan, and France, with the exception of the United States that vetoed the resolution.
The 28-second video shows a person rescuing the boy holding on to a tree while covered in mud and dust. It is being shared with the caption, "Another traumatized child in Gaza."
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The post is also circulating on Facebook with similar captions.
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the video shows a 7-year-old boy being rescued from the flood in Tajikistan in September this year and is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
We ran a reverse image search of some key visuals from the video on Google and found a post by Tajikistan-based video news platform 'Parviiz TV' on Instagram. The thumbnail of a video shared by this page on September 1, 2023, bore a close resemblance to the visuals in the viral video.
Click here to view.
The caption of the video detailed how the boy's name was Safiallah and how he was rescued from the recent flood in Vahdat, Tajikistan.
The full caption, translated from Tajik to English reads, "❤️ The child who was found in Vahdat after the flood is in a better condition. Safiallah was with his uncle's children on the day of the incident, who unfortunately died."
Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search on Google using 'Safiallah rescued' in Tajik and found another report by Tajikistan-based news outlet Radio Liberty. The title of the report, published on September 5, 2023, read, 'The miraculous rescue of seven-year-old Safiallah from the deadly flood of Romit Gorge'
The report carried visuals of when Safiallah was first found, which were an exact match to the viral video.
Here is a comparison between the viral video and the original video from September.
The report by Radio Liberty also showed Safiallah receiving treatment in a hospital. According to reports, several parts of Tajikistan were hit by heavy rains, landslides, and flooding on August 27, claiming the lives of at least 21 people.