Did Israel use misleading images to claim it wasn’t blocking aid deliveries to Gaza?

Israel published a video on its X (formerly Twitter) account in early February promoting its efforts to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the besieged Gaza Strip, in a bid to dispel claims it has been actively blocking deliveries.

However, some social media users quickly denounced Israel for disinformation, claiming many of the images used in the video are unrelated to the current conflict.

The video, seen below, claims to show the aid provided to Gazans in the four months since the conflict erupted in October. It shows tents and equipment the country’s government claims it provided to Gazans.

It has now been deleted from Israel’s official X account.

But with a simple reverse image search, we found that these images came from a news report filmed in March 2022 on the border between Moldova and Ukraine, where Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s war were sheltering.

Social media users fiercely criticised what they called an attempt at dishonest propaganda by Israel.

In response to the controversy, the state of Israel published a clarification on its X account, acknowledging the images did in fact show Moldova: “The photo was for illustrative purposes and we should have stated that in the video.”

“Moving forward, we will do our best to ensure transparency in the visuals that we post,” it added.

The video attracted even more attention as it was published just days after the United Nations warned that Gaza residents were now on the brink of famine.

Dozens of Israeli demonstrators also organised sit-ins to block the passage of humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza.

Meanwhile, Palestinian relief operations are expected to be further affected after the United States and other major donors suspended funding to UNRWA, the main agency responsible for distributing aid to Gaza.

Many countries temporarily paused payments to the agency, active in the region since 1949, after a dozen of the agency’s employees were accused of participating in Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

The freezing of UNRWA funds has been criticised by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who said that defunding UNRWA would be “both disproportionate and dangerous”.