Recently, in protest of Israel’s ongoing illegal blockade of Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla, a naval initiative by international human rights activists to deliver aid, began its journey from Barcelona, Spain, on August 31. Subsequently, between September 13 and 15, more vessels carrying aid joined the fleet from Tunisia, the Italian island of Sicily, and the Greek island of Syros. In this context, a video has been circulated on social media claiming that Israeli soldiers bombed and blew up the Global Sumud Flotilla.
See the videos circulated on Facebook: here, here, here, here, here, and here.
See the video circulated on Instagram: here (Archive).
Fact-check
An investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found that the circulated video is not of the Global Sumud Flotilla; rather, it is a video of a fire incident on a passenger ship at the port of Manado in Indonesia.
An investigation into this matter found some photos posted on an Instagram account named Joecel Lapinig. The scenes in these photos match the video circulated with the claim.
The post’s caption states that this is a scene from the port of Manado, Indonesia. On July 20 of this year, a ferry named ‘KM Barcelona-5’ caught fire near Talise Island. Five people, including a pregnant passenger, were killed in this fire, and many passengers saved themselves by jumping into the sea.
Subsequently, following this lead, a relevant keyword search led to a report published on the website of the UAE-based news outlet ‘Gulf Today’ on July 20, titled ‘VIDEO: Indonesia passenger ferry fire kills five as hundreds rescued’.
The detailed description in the report states that on July 20, a fire broke out on a passenger ferry near Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. In this incident, rescuers recovered five bodies, including a pregnant woman.
Additionally, another video of the same incident was found on an Instagram account named ‘Kigali Today’, published on July 22, where it is mentioned as an incident in Indonesia.
Therefore, it can be stated with certainty that this video has no connection with the recent naval initiative, the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Thus, a video of a fire on a passenger ship at the port of Manado, Indonesia, has been circulated with the claim that Israeli soldiers bombed and blew up the Global Sumud Flotilla; which is false.
Sources
- Joecel Lapinig: Instagram Video
- Gulf Today: VIDEO: Indonesia passenger ferry fire kills five as hundreds rescued
- Kigali Today: Instagram Video
