Insufficient Evidence To Confirm Al-Zubaidi Is in ICU
The Claim
One of the recaptured Palestinian prisoners, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, was admitted to the intensive care unit after being tortured.
News posted on
Emerging story
A claim with an accompanying image is quickly spreading on social media. The low-quality image is of a man in a hospital, while his face is not noticeable. The claim is that he is Zakaria Al-Zubaidi in intensive care at a hospital after being tortured. Al-Zubaidi is one of the recaptured Palestinian prisoners who recently escaped from Gilboa prison in Israel.
Misbar’s Analysis
No credible news sources verify that Al-Zubaidi was admitted into intensive care at any hospital in Palestine or Israel. The image appears to be taken from a video from a different event not related to Al-Zubaidi. As can be seen below, multiple Israeli forces surround the prisoners, and security is high.
The image is also not clear enough to identify the man. Therefore using it as any proof is not credible and lends itself to speculation. Moreover, the Israeli Ministry of Defense Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) released a statement refuting the claim. The statement was made following multiple inquiries and added that Al-Zubaidi was not treated in the alleged hospital Rambam, nor was he taken to the intensive care unit. He is currently in prison, where he is being held. A military correspondent from Israeli Channel 10 also wrote on his Twitter account that the medical condition of prisoner Al-Zubaidi is good and has not changed since he was captured.
As the claim went viral, protests were held in different cities in Palestine. Palestinians are organizing protests in solidarity with Al-Zubaidi. Still, there is insufficient proof to confirm that the prisoner is in the hospital when writing this article. Based on the findings, the Misbar team ensures the claim is misleading and lacks supporting evidence.
