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| - Fact Check: Video of half-naked Hamas leader with woman is old, unrelated to current Gaza conflict
India Today found that the viral video showing a Hamas leader in a compromising position dates back to June 2021.
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India Today Fact Check
The video is from 2021 and predates the ongoing Gaza conflict by over two years.
On February 27, US President Joe Biden indicated that Israel may halt attacks in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan if a hostage-release agreement is reached by then. Amidst hopes of a temporary truce, a video going viral on social media shows a semi-nude man caught in a compromising position with a woman in what appears to be a hotel room. Allegedly, this was a Hamas leader.
Sharing the viral video, an X user wrote, "A Hamas leader with a woman at a hotel while Gaza is burning. He's having a different jihad." Its archive can be seen here.
India Today found that the viral video dates back to 2021 and is not recent. It shows Hamas leader Abdel Rahim Abou Fanah, chairman of Zakat, the fundraising arm of the Palestinian militant organisation, half-naked in the company of a woman.
Our Probe
Responding to the viral post, an X user stated that the video was from 2021. Taking this cue, we ran a keyword search and found several news reports from June 2021 containing screengrabs of the viral video.
According to a report in Global Watch Analysis, Hamas leader Abdel Rahim Abou Fanah, chairman of Zakat, was caught half-naked with a sex worker in an Israeli hotel. A Moroccan news outlet reported at the time that following the video leak, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard instructed Hamas leaders to remove Abou Fanah.
The report cited an official letter from Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, to Yahya Al-Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza, ordering Abou Fanah's immediate removal. A copy of the letter can be seen below.
Similar reports confirming the incident's date and origin can be seen here and here.
In the aftermath of this scandal in 2021, the Gazan public was dismayed to witness a Hamas leader spending his life in a lavish hotel within Israeli territory. The video elicited strong reactions from the community at that time.
So, while the video does appear to show a Hamas leader in a compromising position, it’s clear that it has nothing to do with the ongoing conflict that began on October 7, 2023.
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