Photo shows tunnel connecting northern Gaza and Israel, not Rafah and Egypt | Fact check
The claim: Image shows a tunnel connecting Rafah to Egypt
A May 26 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a picture of an underground tunnel purportedly found in southern Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“One of 50 Tunnels the size of motorways Israel has discovered connecting Rafah to Egypt,” reads the caption on the post.
It was shared more than 500 times in five days. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: False
The image shows a tunnel connecting northern Gaza and Israel, according to its photographer and Getty Images.
Hamas once claimed a tunnel network of 300 miles
Israel said it discovered 50 tunnels spanning from the southern Gaza city of Rafah into Egypt, as reported by Israeli attorney Gilad Noam at an International Court of Justice hearing on May 17.
“Nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in Rafah, from which approximately 50 tunnels cross into Egypt," said Noam. "These tunnels are used by Hamas to supply itself with weapons and ammunition, and could potentially be used to smuggle out of Gaza hostages or Hamas senior operatives.”
But the photo in the social media posts doesn’t show one of these tunnels.
Rather, it shows a northern Gaza tunnel officials believe Hamas may have used to carry out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, according to Getty Images.
Israeli photographer Noam Galai, who is credited in the Getty Images caption, also posted the image to Instagram on Jan. 7. He said it, along with other images included in the post, showed tunnels Hamas used to enter Israel through the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza.
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Israel, with support from the U.S., has long sought to locate and destroy tunnels in Hamas' elaborate underground network, which the group's leaders at one point said spanned more than 300 miles, USA TODAY reported. The Israeli military pumped Hamas tunnels with water after the October attack with the goal of "neutralizing underground terrorist infrastructure."
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, including false assertions that an image shows explosions during Iran’s attack on Israel, that an image shows a “mass exodus” at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport and that a video shows Yemen attacking Israel on April 13.
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Getty Images, Jan. 7, Israeli Forces Highlight Alleged Hamas Infrastructure in Northern Gaza
Noam Galai, Jan. 7, Instagram post
PBS NewsHour (YouTube), May 17, WATCH: Israel makes appearance in ICJ responding to new complaint over possible attack on Rafah
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim photo shows tunnel between Gaza and Egypt | Fact check
