A photo of an underground tunnel is going viral on social media to claim that it connects Rafah from the Southern Gaza to Egypt.
Some background: According to the Gaza health ministry, on 26 May, an airstrike in a camp at Rafah killed 45 Palestinians and injured dozens.
Following this, the Israeli army continued bombing in Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan area including the Indonesian Field Hospital.
![This image shows a tunnel which connects Northern Gaza to Israel and is far away from Rafah in Southern Gaza.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2024-05%2Ffa3ffc14-5698-461d-b16d-6319a3d35ab5%2FScreenshot%202024-05-29%20114023.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on Google and this led us to Getty Images.
A similar image was shared on 7 January 2024, and the description stated that it shows a tunnel reportedly built by the Hamas group, which connects Northern Gaza through the Erez border crossing to Israel.
It adds that Hamas reportedly used this tunnel to attack Israel on 7 October 2023.
The photo was credited to Noam Galai.
![This image shows a tunnel which connects Northern Gaza to Israel and is far away from Rafah in Southern Gaza.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2024-05%2Fa38f3db1-81e6-4964-ab45-2a0a0ee87380%2FScreenshot%202024-05-29%20114837.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
The photo is from Northern Gaza and not Rafah.
(Source: Getty Images/Screenshot)
It is also important to note that Northern Gaza, where this particular tunnel is situated, is around 40.7 KM away from Rafah.
Conclusion: A photo of a tunnel connecting Norther Gaza to Israel is being falsely shared as a photo of a tunnel from Rafah connecting Egypt.
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