Israel Launches Campaign Accusing Hamas of Attacking Gaza Civilians

Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s post that Hamas is planning an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, Israeli official accounts and Zionist accounts have been circulating videos claiming to show Hamas attacking civilians following the ceasefire.

The videos, primarily posted by the official account of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, circulated widely on social media, with calls to demilitarize Gaza.

Misbar’s team investigated these videos, finding them to be outdated and misused to support false claims. In the cases that Misbar observed, official Israeli accounts used videos originally uploaded by Hamas itself or its supporters in a misleading context to use against the group.

2024 Video Reportedly Depicting Punishment of Women’s Blackmailer

On October 19, the official X account of the Israeli Foreign Ministry shared a video of two masked men pulling a tied man, with his upper body exposed, then beating him on his back and legs.

The ministry described the video as “difficult viewing,” claiming that it shows Hamas brutalizing Palestinian civilians, citing warnings from the U.S. administration.

Misbar’s investigative team conducted a reverse image search on the video’s frames, finding that the video was outdated.

The video was uploaded by a Telegram channel called “Catch a Collaborator,” which often shares Hamas’ military achievements of catching “collaborators, thieves, bandits, and corrupt merchants.” The video was uploaded in October 2024, predating the current ceasefire by at least one year.

According to the caption provided by the Telegram channel, the video depicts the beating of a man accused of blackmailing girls in Gaza.

Video Uploaded By Hamas Itself Showing Yasser Abu Shabab’s Men Beaten

Only two hours following the circulation of the previous video, the X account of the Israeli Foreign Ministry shared another video of a group of armed men pulling a man to the ground, then beating him along with others with their guns. The ministry’s account claimed once again that the video shows Hamas terrorizing Palestinian civilians in Gaza as soon as the ceasefire came into effect.

Reverse image search revealed that the video is outdated and used in a misleading context.  It was shared on a Telegram channel named “Sahem Unit 103,” referring to a Hamas-linked internal-security formation that emerged during the 2024–25 Gaza war. The video shows the moment the al-Qassam Brigades and security forces in Gaza opened fire on gangs, bandits, and spies loyal to Yasser Abu Shabab.

According to the channel “Sahem Unit 103,” the video, shared in June, was originally filmed during the truce that happened between Hamas and Israel in January 2025. In other words, the possible date of the video could be between January 19, the day the truce came into effect, and March 17, when Israel unilaterally ended the ceasefire and launched airstrikes on Gaza. 

Armed Dispute Among Palestinian Evacuees

Around the same time, Zionist accounts circulated another clip, alleging that Hamas fighters opened fire on Palestinian civilians in Gaza after the ceasefire.

A scene of the video was also included in a YouTube short video uploaded by the official YouTube Channel of the Israeli military forces, with claims that it shows Hamas’ Sahem Unit abusing people who “dared to challenge Hamas terrorism.”

In a previous fact-check, Misbar’s team revealed, through reverse image search, that the video is outdated and unrelated to the Sahem Unit or Hamas. The video was shared on August 29, depicting an armed dispute among Gazans over tent allocation.

Media Outlets Amplify Israel’s Misleading Claims

Following the circulation of the misleading videos by Israel’s Foreign Ministry and other official or Zionist accounts, several major media outlets republished or echoed the same claims without independent verification. Reports by The Times of Israel, New York Post, Daily Mail, and The Nightly repeated Israel’s description of the videos as evidence of Hamas “torturing” and “executing” Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The Times of Israel’s live blog described the footage as showing Hamas “breaking Gazans’ legs with metal bars.”

The New York Post referred to it as a “video of Hamas torturing and executing Palestinians.”

Similarly, Daily Mail and The Nightly published articles amplifying the same footage, presenting Israel’s narrative as fact and using graphic language that further decontextualized the clips.

None of these outlets referenced the original sources of the videos, which, as the investigation revealed, were uploaded months earlier by Hamas-linked or Gaza-based channels and documented unrelated incidents.

What Is Hamas’ Sahem Unit?

The Sahem Unit is a special security force established by the Ministry of Interior in Gaza in March 2024. The unit was formed to combat looting, monitor prices, and pursue collaborators with Israel amid growing instability caused by the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis. Initially emerging as informal youth groups wearing black clothing and masks, Sahem members were first seen at chaotic locations such as bread queues, ATMs, and markets before being officially adopted and organized by the ministry.

Supported by resistance factions—including elements affiliated with Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades—and by tribal leaders, the unit’s stated goals include restoring internal security, protecting humanitarian convoys, and preventing Israel’s alleged attempts to spread disorder in the Strip. Over time, the unit expanded its presence across Gaza and reportedly gained wide public acceptance, particularly for targeting looters of aid trucks and those accused of collaboration.

Sahem’s operations reportedly involve field detentions and interrogations of individuals suspected of theft, price manipulation, or cooperation with Israeli intelligence. According to the unit, these actions are coordinated with the Interior Ministry and, in some cases, result in summary punishments, including execution by firing squad, as a deterrent against collaboration.

Read More

Israeli Propagandists Exploit Whale Shark’s Presence in Gaza to Demonize Residents

Distorting Lazzarini’s Statement, Israel Claims UNRWA Admitted No Famine in Gaza