Fact-Check: Old Photo of Hamas Leaders in Qatar Falsely Shared as Recent Image

The photo dates back to October 2021 and shows Hamas leaders at the Turkish Embassy in Qatar.

A photo showing a Hamas leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal, seated around a table at an event has gone viral on social media.

The claim: The photo is being shared to claim that it shows Hamas leaders enjoying a feast during the holy month of Ramadan, while people are starving to death in Gaza.

(Archives of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here, and here.)

Is it true?: No. The photo dates back to October 2021 and is not recent as claimed.

• It was taken at the Turkish Embassy in Qatar, where Haniyeh and Mashal were invited to celebrate the National Day of the Republic of Turkey.

• Ramadan was observed in the months of April and May in 2021, which was five months before this photo was taken.

How did we find the truth?: We carried out a reverse image search using Google, which led us to the website of an Arabic news aggregator.

• It shared a report by Safa agency, a Palestinian news agency, which carried the same photo.

• The translated version of the page showed that the report was published on 29 October 2021, and showed a Hamas delegation participating "in the celebration of the Turkish Embassy in Qatar on the National Day of the Republic."

Taking a cue from this, we used relevant keywords in Arabic to look for more information.

• Another report by Safa agency mentioned the a Hamas delegation, headed by politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, offered "sincere congratulations to the Turkish president, government, and people," on the occasion of the country's Republic Day.

• Palestinian news website Palestinian Information Center also shared a photo story about this event on 29 October 2021, which included the photo from the viral claim.

• It is important to note that Ramadan was observed over the months of April and May in 2021, which confirms that this photo was not taken during Ramadan.

Conclusion: An old photo of Hamas leaders at the Turkish Embassy in Qatar is being shared as a recent photo.

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