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| - FACT CHECK: Did UNRWA Add A Black Band To Its Profile To Grieve Sinwar’s Death?
A viral post shared on X claims the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) added a black band to its profile to grieve the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
UNRWA has put a black band across its profile image to grieve for Sinwar. Just in case it was unclear what the UN is. pic.twitter.com/rBorUW3WKj
— Daniel Friedman (@DanFriedman81) October 17, 2024
Verdict: False
The claim is false. The profile banner recognizes the deaths of “UNRWA team members killed in Gaza,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement shared to her X account.
Fact Check:
Prior to his death, Sinwar reportedly told Hamas not to “concede to cease-fire negotiations without him,” according to the New York Post. Sinwar also advised Hamas to “appoint a council of leaders to govern Gaza,” the outlet indicated.
The X post, viewed over 400,000 times as of writing, claims the UNRWA added a black band to its profile to grieve Sinwar’s death.
“UNRWA has put a black band across its profile image to grieve for Sinwar. Just in case it was unclear what the UN is,” the post’s caption reads. The post includes a photo of the black band featured on the agency’s verified X profile.
The claim is false. An archived tweet from October 2023 shows the same black band across the UNRWA’s verified X profile. The same tweet highlights the deaths of 29 UNRWA colleagues as a result of the Israel-Hamas War.
“We are in shock and mourning. It is now confirmed that 29 of our colleagues in #Gaza have been killed since October 7. Half of these colleagues were @unrwa teachers,” the tweet begins. “As an Agency, we are devastated. We are grieving with each other and with the families,” it continues. (RELATED: Video Claims To Show Gazans Reacting To Sinwar’s Death)
Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports suggesting the UNRWA had added the black banner to its profile to grieve Sinwar’s death. Actually, the opposite is true. On Oct. 18, both Lead Stories and U.K.-based outlet Full Fact reported the claim was false.
Furthermore, UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma released a statement via her X account denying the claim’s validity.
“On 22 October 2023, we reached a very sad milestone= 20 @UNRWA team members killed in #Gaza,” Touma wrote. “To pay a symbolic tribute, we added a black ribbon to our logo on social media. We’ve kept it since as the death toll continued. Today, 230 team members killed: friends & colleagues,” she added. Touma directed Check Your Fact to the statement when asked to comment on the claim.
On 22 October 2023, we reached a very sad milestone= 20 @UNRWA team members killed in #Gaza
To pay a symbolic tribute, we added a black ribbon to our logo on social media.
We’ve kept it since as the death toll continued. Today, 230 team members killed: friends & colleagues pic.twitter.com/76l2ph6uIg
— Juliette Touma (@JulietteTouma) October 18, 2024
Sinwar, who allegedly planned the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas War, was recently killed by the Israeli army’s Bislach Brigade while they were conducting searches in Rafah, according to Al Jazeera.
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