Sinwar's Wife Was Not Holding A 32K Bag
The Claim
Sinwar’s wife was clutching a $32,000 Hermès Birkin bag on the night before October 7.
News posted on
Emerging story
Israeli officials as well as pro-Israel accounts shared a photo of Sinwar's wife walking in an underground tunnel carrying a bag claiming that the bag was the Birkin Hermès bag which costs $32,000.
The official account of the state of Israel shared the claim on X claiming that Sinwar’s wife was clutching a $32,000 Hermès Birkin bag on the night before October 7.
KAN 11 the state-owned Israeli television channel shared the claim on its X account quoting what Avichae Adraee, the IOF’s spokesperson in Arabic, said, “While the residents of Gaza do not have enough money for food or basic products, Sinwar's wife was spotted at the entrance to the tunnel with a bag worth $32,000.”
The claim was shared by some of the well-known media outlets, such as the British daily magazine The Daily Mail.
The American conservative daily newspaper the New York Post also published an article of the same claim.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the shared claim and found it to be fake.
Sinwar Wife’s Bag Bears No Similarities To Birkin Bag
Misbar’s team traced the viral photo of Sinwar’s wife and found that it was taken from a video that could be found online.
By watching the full video and taking several screenshots of Sinwar’s wife holding her bag, Misbar's team compared it with the alleged Birkin bag.
The bag in Sinwar's wife's hand has two metal clasps. These clasps can not be found in the Birkin bag.
Furthermore, the Birkin bag has an extra outer pouch, which can not be found anywhere in the bag in Siwar’s wife’s hand.
The non-existence of the two metal clasps in the original Birkin bag as well as the disparity in shape and size proves that the bag in Sinwar’s wife's hand was not even a counterfeit bag but only a normal black bag.
Palestinians In Gaza Are Unlikely To Have Hermès Products
For a Palestinian inside the Gaza Strip to have a product from Hermès or any other similar company is very hard.
Hermès only sells Birkin bags to its regular clients.
According to the American business media brand magazine Fast Company, Birkins are not available for purchase at retail in the usual sense and could not be found displayed on the Hermès website or its stores.
One shall be of celebrity status or have a spending history with Hermès to be able to buy a Birkin bag.
Sinwar’s wife is not a celebrity and she is unlikely to have a spending history with Hermès due to the Israeli blockade.
The Israeli blockade in Gaza which was imposed following the victory of the Hamas movement in 2006 has been suffocating Gaza’s residents, controlling their lifestyles and determining their future.
Israeli And Western Media Attempts To Destabilize The Palestinians Through Misinformation
Israeli accounts who shared this claim aimed to destabilize the Palestinians and pro-Palestinians through misinformation.
Western media had also tried to make such allegations. NBC News in the onslaught of the war published an article claiming that Hamas has no shortage of cash while Gaza is plagued by poverty.
Evidence on the ground shows contrast to what NBC News has claimed.
NBC News built its allegations on the fact that Iran is giving the Hamas government about $100 million annually and did not mention whether the Iranian aid goes to the civil departments in Gaza or the military wing of Hamas.
However, Gaza needed billions of dollars to compensate for years of Israeli blockade and escalations before the current war erupted.
Richard Kozul-Wright, director of UNCTAD’s division on globalization and development strategies, said that it was difficult to estimate how much help Gaza would need now until the war stops, “but it’s going to be in the billions of dollars,” he warned.
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