BTS of Film Showing an ‘Injured Boy’ Falsely Linked to Israel-Hamas Conflict

The video is a behind-the-scene clip of a film based on Palestinian child prisoner Ahmed Manasra called Empty Place

Fact-Check: This video is not related to the conflict but, a clip from a film set. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

A video showing a boy on the ground, supposedly 'injured' and surrounded by multiple people along with a camera over his head is being shared on social media platforms.

What are the users saying?: Users have claimed that this video shows Israelis creating 'fake footage of deaths.'

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot)

This post had 21.2K views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

What is the truth?: The claim is false. This video is a behind-the-scene clip of the short film Empty Place, based on a Palestinian child prisoner, Ahmad Manasra.

How did we find out?: We divided the viral video into multiple frames and ran a reverse image search on some of them.

• Using a virtual private network, we accessed a video on TikTok uploaded by user @awawdehproduction which was similar to the viral video but filmed from a different angle and found similarities.

• The video was uploaded on 21 April 2022 with the caption, "Behind the scenes of filming a short film about the story of the child prisoner Ahmed Manasra." (translated from Arabic to English using Google Translate)

• Swipe right to see the comparisons.

Here is a comparison between the viral video and TikTok video. 

Here is a comparison between the viral video and TikTok video. 

Here is a comparison between the viral video and TikTok video. 

Here is a comparison between the viral video and TikTok video. 

• With a relevant keyword search on YouTube, we came across the short film, Empty Place, which is the frame that can be seen in the viral video.

• At 1:21 minute of the film, the shot of the injured boy lying on the ground can be seen.

Here is a screenshot from the film, Empty Place.

(Source: YouTube/Screenshot) 

• The short film has been directed by Palestinian filmmaker Awni Eshtaiwe.

Who is Ahmed Manasra?: In 2015, then-13-year-old Palestinian Ahmad Manasra and his 15-year-old cousin stabbed two Israelis in the streets of a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

• While the police shot down his cousin, Manasra was beaten by the people.

• According to Amnesty International, Ahmad was found not guilty of stabbing anyone, he is serving a sentence for 'attempted murder.'

• It notes that he has been in jail since 2015 and put under solitary confinement for prolonged periods.

• Now a 21-year-old man, Ahmad has been diagnosed with 'serious psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia' and should be granted early release on this account.

Latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict: As of 12:16 PM India Standard Time (IST), Hamas officials have killed at least 30 Israelis in the Gaza Strip, taking the death toll of Israelis up to 1200, according to Al Jazeera.

• It also notes the comment of Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant who has, "pledged to launch a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’s surprise attack."

• So far 260,000 people have been displaced in Gaza.

Conclusion: Clearly, this video is not related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. It is a behind-the-scenes shoot of the film, Empty Place that is based on Palestinian child prisoner Ahmed Manasra.

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