Viral photo claiming to show recent Gaza attacks is actually from 2007
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A photo allegedly depicting the Gaza attacks in early May was shared 40,000 times on Facebook. But it actually dates from 2007.
In the photo, a group of young men are seen running away from a missile, which appears to be just a few metres away from hitting them. Captions accompanying the photo claimed that the missile was launched into the Gaza Strip from a plane operated by Israeli forces and suggested that it was taken during the recent violent clashes between Israel and Gaza. Some online users cast doubt on the photo, saying that it had been manipulated.
A reverse image search shows that the photo was taken in May 2007 by Mahmud Hams, a photojournalist from the Agence France-Presse in Gaza. It shows young Palestinians running for cover during an Israeli airstrike that targeted a refugee camp in Gaza. The photo received the Prix Bayeux for war correspondents later that year.
Israeli and Palestinian forces reached a ceasefire on May 6. The attacks left at least 31 dead in Gaza and four in Israel.
Screenshot from the Prix Bayeux website