Israel Uses Misleading Photo of British Politician to Tie Sumud Flotilla to Hamas

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has escalated its campaign against the Global Sumud Flotilla, pushing false claims of ties to Hamas. It circulated a misleading photo of former British MP George Galloway, alleging the photo shows a Hamas member linked to the flotilla.

Israel Misuses Photo of George Galloway to Link Flotilla to Hamas

Amid recent news of Israel’s naval interception of all ships in the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for Gaza, government-affiliated accounts launched a propaganda campaign seeking to link the flotilla to Hamas.

On September 30, before the interception, Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X claiming it obtained documents in Gaza proving the flotilla’s ties to Hamas. The ministry alleged the papers showed “direct involvement” of the group in the activist mission of dozens of boats challenging Israel’s blockade, and asserted that the documents revealed connections between flotilla leaders and Hamas’s foreign arm, the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians (PCPA).

It further claimed that another document listed PCPA operatives, including senior Hamas members. The ministry also circulated a photo alleging it shows Zaher Birawi, described as PCPA’s U.K. head and a long-time flotilla organizer.

Israeli media outlets echoed the Foreign Ministry’s claim on X, republishing the same photo it posted and claiming it shows Zaher Birawi alongside Hamas's late leader Ismail Haniyeh and British politician George Galloway, without clarifying who was who.

Misbar’s investigative team conducted a thorough reverse image search and found the photo circulated by Israel’s Foreign Ministry and echoed by Israeli media to be misleading.

The photo shows former British MP George Galloway during his January 7, 2010, visit to Gaza.

Getty Images archives from that day document Galloway attending a rally honoring international peace activists alongside Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who Israel assassinated in July 2024.

AP News also published video footage from 2009 of Galloway’s Gaza visit. Both sources make clear that the photo depicts Galloway, not Zaher Birawi, as Israel claimed in its attempt to link the Sumud Flotilla to Hamas.

George Galloway Refutes Israeli Propaganda

George Galloway has hit back after Israel circulated photos on social media falsely identifying him as a Hamas leader.

The former British MP condemned what he called “an absurd but deadly smear” targeting Greta Thunberg and the flotilla bound for Gaza. Galloway said Israel misidentified him as Zaher Birawi, a British Palestinian who has long worked in and around Parliament, accusing Birawi of masterminding the flotilla.

“But his pictures which Israel has published globally are actually pictures of me," he wrote. Galloway affirmed he has no ties to Hamas or the flotilla, noting he has not spoken to Birawi in over a decade. At the end of his post, Galloway called for “a free Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Israeli Incitement Campaign Against Global Sumud Flotilla

Israel has launched a coordinated media drive to discredit the flotilla and its participants, framing the mission as a security threat rather than a humanitarian effort.

The official Israeli government’s X account claimed the flotilla is “openly supported by Hamas” and called it “a jihadist initiative serving the terror group’s agenda.” The “Israel in Italy” account echoed the same line, insisting the mission is “not humanitarian in nature but a jihadist project.” The Foreign Ministry also targeted individuals linked to the flotilla.

Israeli media outlets amplified these narratives, extending the smear and incitement campaign against activists well beyond social media.

Israel Intercepts All Global Sumud Flotilla Ships

The Israeli military boarded and seized the Marinette, the last vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, one of the largest aid missions attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

The flotilla, comprising at least 44 civilian boats carrying around 500 activists, was first intercepted late Wednesday, when Israeli naval forces boarded multiple vessels and detained volunteers, transporting them to Israel.

On Friday morning, livestreamed footage shows Israeli occupation forces storming the Polish-flagged Marinette, which reportedly carried a crew of six. The operation marked the capture of the flotilla’s last active boat.

Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir filmed himself mocking activists from the flotilla, branding them “terrorists” without evidence. The far-right minister has previously demanded that participants be imprisoned in high-security facilities instead of being deported.

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