Photo of Hamas leaders dining is from 2021, not taken amid war with Israel | Fact check
The claim: Photo of Hamas leaders dining in Qatar was taken amid Gaza war
[En Espa?ol: Foto de li?deres de Hama?s cenando es de 2021, no se tomo? en plena guerra con Israel]
A March 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows an image of a group of people eating dinner at an event.
“Luxury banquet in Qatar," reads the post's caption in Spanish. “Hamas leaders dine on delicacies while in Gaza the Palestinians suffer their decisions."
The post garnered more than 300 likes in two weeks. The same claim was posted on Facebook as well.
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Our rating: False
The photo of the Hamas leaders was taken in Qatar in October 2021 and predates the Israel-Hamas war by two years.
Photo of Hamas leaders is from 2021, not 2024
The men circled in red in the post are Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniya, heads of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, who live in exile in Qatar.
The post claims they are celebrating while Palestinians suffer for their decisions, an apparent reference to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. However, the picture dates back at least two years, as it was published by the Palestinian Information Center in October 2021.
The war between Israel and Hamas started in October 2023.
The Palestinian Information Center article, which is in Arabic, says the Hamas leaders participated in a celebration of the National Day of the Turkish Republic at the Turkish embassy in Qatar, according to a Google translation.
A caption accompanying the photo published by Safa Agency, a Palestinian press agency, also confirms the event and October 2021 date.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has persisted and led to thousands of deaths ever since Israel declared itself an independent state in 1948. In recent decades, the Palestinian Authority has controlled part of the West Bank, Hamas has overseen the Gaza Strip and Israel has had power in both areas, according to the Council on Foreign Relations,
Fact check: Photo of deceased children is from Syria in 2013, not Israel-Hamas war
USA TODAY has debunked an array of false claims surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, including assertions that Israelis are fast-tracked for U.S. organ donations, that Nike made a pro-Israel shoe and that UPenn students performed an antisemitic chant.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The Quint also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Palestinian Information Center, Oct. 29, 2021, Hamas Delegation headed by Haniyeh participates in the celebration of the Turkish Embassy in Qatar
Safa Agency, Oct. 29, 2021, A delegation from the Hamas leadership, headed by Ismail Haniyeh, participates in the celebration of the Turkish Embassy in Qatar on the National Day of the Republic, where the delegation congratulated Turkey's president, government and people
USA TODAY, Jan. 14, A war with no walls: Inside the devastating impact of Israel-Hamas war around the globe
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hamas leader photo was taken in 2021, not amid Gaza war | Fact check