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Different Contexts for the Same Video
“Stand With Us”, an international nonprofit Israel education organization, and other social media users recently shared a video clip purportedly showing a surveillance camera recording of the moment a rocket was launched from Gaza towards the Sderot settlement in the Gaza Strip. Misbar's investigation revealed that the video showed the Israeli Iron Dome intercepting heavy machine gun fire from Gaza at dawn on Thursday, April 21, 2022, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth.
The Yedioth newspaper and the “Stand With Us” organization narratives of two simultaneous events, raised concerns about the context of the video. Whether the video depicted the firing of machine guns from the Gaza Strip or the interception of missiles by the Israeli Iron Dome, since the lights that appear in the clip were on the outskirts of the border area, as can be seen in the image below taken from the video.
According to the newspaper, the occupation army announced around 2:00 a.m. that it had intercepted four rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, following the recording of the video by surveillance camera at 2:05 a.m., the Israeli army announced on Twitter that the activation of the warning in Sderot and the surrounding Gaza area was the result of non-rocket fire.
Palestinians use heavy machine guns as anti-aircraft weapons to confront Israeli warplane raids on the Gaza Strip, which sometimes result in the activation of Israel's Iron Dome systems. The video also shows a scene from inside the red-bricked settlement of Sderot, rather than from the Gaza Strip, as shown by the satellite images from Google Maps below.
The allegation comes after reports that a rocket fired from Gaza towards the settlement of Sderot landed on the Dome on Wednesday evening, April 20, with no Palestinian faction claiming responsibility. The latest military escalation also came after Palestinian factions announced their mobilization to defend Jerusalem in response to settlers' calls to attack Palestinians inside al-Aqsa courtyards on the second Friday of Ramadan. This day also marks the Jewish Passover holiday, as well as the fifth day of Israeli incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque since Friday, April 15. Palestinian worshipers have been beaten, arrested, and tear gas canisters have been fired at them by police, who are still forcing them to leave al-Aqsa Mosque.
This article was written by Mohammed Al Khaldi and translated by Dina Faisal.
Misbar Sources:
Misbar
Organization Stand With Us
Palestine TV
Google Maps
Google Maps
صفا
Anatolia
Ahronot calls
Al-Akhbar
