Old Image of Injured Journalist Falsely Linked To Ongoing Israel-Hamas War

This image of Hana Mahameed dates back to October 2015, and is being falsely linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Fact-Check | This image of the journalist dates back to 2015 and is being shared with a misleading context.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

(Trigger Warning: Distressing visuals)

An image of a woman with a bandaged face is being shared to claim that it shows a journalist named Hana Mahameed reporting after being hit in the face by an Israeli grenade in east Jerusalem.

What have users said?: People sharing the viral image have said, "Journalist Hana Mahameed back on screen after being hit in face by an ISRAELI GRENADE in East Jersualem. Was Hamas hiding in her face? (sic)."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

At the time this report was being written, the post had recorded more than 14,000 views.

(More archives of similar claims can be seen here, here, and here.)

What is the truth?: The viral image dates back to October 2015, when Mahameed went live after being hit in the face by a stun grenade during a clash between Palestinian protestors and Israeli police in east Jerusalem.

What led us to the truth?: A keyword search led us to a report published by The Guardian in 2015 that carried similar visuals.

• The report said that Arab-Israeli journalist Hanna Mahameed was seen back on air shortly after she was hit in the face by a stun grenade.

• The journalist was injured during a clash between Israeli police and Palestinian protestors in east Jerusalem.

• It mentioned that Mahameed worked for Lebanese-based Al-Mayadeen TV and was reportedly hit by a projectile grenade fired by Israeli police.

• The report further said that a video showed the journalist screaming in pain before she was taken to hospital. She later went live with her face covered in bandages.

• Several people paid tributes and hailed the journalist for her bravery and resilience.

The report was published on 5 October 2015.

(Source: The Guardian/Screenshot)

Footage from the incident: On performing an Arabic keyword search on YouTube, we found a video uploaded on the official channel of Al Mayadeen.

• It was titled, "The moment the Al-Mayadeen correspondent was injured by Israeli forces | Reporter injured by Israeli soldiers."

• The video was uploaded on 5 October 2015 and its description mentioned that the journalist was injured by a stun grenade fired by the occupation forces.

Case closed in 2016: According to a report in Haaretz, the Justice Ministry closed the case of a policeman who threw a stun grenade at Mahameed because the policeman could not be identified.

• It mentioned that Mahameed was injured while covering the riots outside Fadi Alloun's house, who was shot to death after stabbing an Israeli minor.

• Reacting to the ministry's decision, the journalist said that she wasn't surprised.

Conclusion: An old image of an injured journalist is being shared with users falsely linking it to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

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