Post offers no evidence that IDF tanks fired on their own people inside a kibbutz | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read
91

The claim: Video proves IDF tanks fired on Israeli citizens in a kibbutz on Oct. 7

A Nov. 26 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces being interviewed about fighting terrorists in a kibbutz in Israel on Oct. 7. A kibbutz is a communal settlement in Israel.

On-screen text included in the post reads, "IDF tanks fire on their own people," while the post's caption reads, "The hidden realities of Oct. 7th.”

The video was liked more than 100,000 times in four days. It was first shared by another Instagram account that obtained over 4,000 likes.

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Our rating: False

None of the soldiers interviewed in the clip say they shot at Israeli civilians, and the video does not show evidence of Israeli tanks firing on civilians. The Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

News report about IDF soldiers does not show they killed citizens

Hamas militants launched a coordinated surprise attack on Israel on the morning of Oct. 7, killing hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The Instagram clip was taken from a Keshet 12 News report about a group of all-female Israeli tank crews that fought Hamas militants that day. Several of those women are interviewed about their experiences and describe fighting inside Holit, a kibbutz that was overrun by Hamas fighters.

But nothing in the news report or the Instagram post shows Israelis firing on civilians or talking about doing it.

Instead, the news report highlights the soldiers rushing to save civilians and taking precautions to avoid inflicting civilian casualties.

“We break into the community, crash the gate,” one soldier says, according to the on-screen transcript from Keshet 12. “The soldier points and tells me, ‘Shoot there, the terrorists are there.’ I ask him, ‘Are there civilians there?’ He says, ‘I don’t know, just shoot.’ I decide not to shoot, this is an Israeli community."

Both Al Jazeera and Global News reported Hamas killed 13 people in Holit on Oct. 7. Neither mentions IDF firing on civilians in the kibbutz.

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Hamas leaders confirmed they were behind the attacks on Israel, which they refer to as operation “Al-Aqsa Flood.” While in Holit, Hamas militants recorded videos of themselves with children of Jewish families who lived there. Some residents of Holit were kidnapped by Hamas during the attack, according to Jewish Insider.

USA TODAY previously debunked claims that wrongly suggested Israel harmed its citizens on Oct. 7, including a video that claimed to show an Israeli helicopter attacking the Supernova Music Festival and a post that claimed the attack was a false flag operation.

USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, video does not prove IDF tanks shot at Israeli citizens | Fact check