Attack on music festival was perpetrated by Hamas, wasn't a false flag | Fact check
The claim: Hamas attack on Supernova music festival was a false flag
An Oct. 9 post (direct link, archived link) on X, formerly Twitter, claims a recent massacre in Israel was the product of a conspiracy.
“I have a one (sic), but very big question,” reads the X post from filmmaker Igor Lopatonok. “Location for that tragic music festival on the border of #Gaza was changed two days before event. 260 killed and 600-700 missing. For me, that all sounds like a biggest (sic) false flag operation to kill sacred victims and ignite a war."
The X post was reposted nearly 3,000 times and was also shared more than 20 times on Facebook, according to the social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.
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Our rating: False
An abundance of evidence, including graphic footage from the attack, shows it was Hamas that perpetrated the massacre at the Supernova music festival.
Evidence shows attack was planned and executed by Hamas
Hamas militants stormed across the Israeli border in a deadly surprise attack on the morning of Oct. 7. One of the first targets of the assault was the Supernova music festival, which was occurring in a section of open desert near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel. The militants attacked the festivalgoers with gunfire, grenades and rockets – killing an estimated 260 people.
Lopatonok claims the massacre was a false flag operation, a term that refers to a "military action carried out with the intention of blaming an opponent for it," according to BBC News. But the term is also commonly misused to falsely claim major news events were staged.
There is an abundance of evidence that shows it was Hamas, not another group, that perpetrated the attack.
Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas' military wing, took credit for the assault and said it was in response to Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank, according to the Associated Press. Hamas has since released videos showing civilians they took hostage, including a video of an injured woman taken from the festival.
Other Hamas leaders interviewed by Al-Jazeera on Oct. 7 stated that they had hostages and that they were prepared for an "all-out war."
International organization groups also identified Hamas as the being behind the attacks. The U.N. Secretary-General condemned the group for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel in "the strongest terms." Members of the U.N. Security Council also denounced Hamas for perpetrating the massacre.
Hamas militants also recorded their own videos of the attack. South First Responders, a Telegram page run by first responders in Gaza, posted videos they obtained from GoPros recovered from dead militants located at the festival grounds and dashcam videos from cars that filmed parts of the attacks. Those videos show militants driving in trucks, shouting and shooting at civilians and taking people hostage.
An extensive analysis of footage from the attack by CNN found that the assailants were wearing apparel associated with Hamas, including black and green clothes and headbands. A CNN journalist also found a T-shirt at the scene of the attack that had the symbol of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
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Billboard reported the location of the festival was moved two days before the event after its initial site had fallen through. But this does not mean the attack was a false flag operation.
Lopatonok did not provide any evidence supporting his false flag claim in an interview with USA TODAY.
Our fact-check sources:
BBC News, Feb. 18, 2022, False flags: What are they and when have they been used?
CNN, Oct. 14, How a rave celebrating life turned into a frenzied massacre
Associated Press, Oct. 7, Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation
Al-Jazeera, Oct. 7, Hamas says it has enough Israeli captives to free all Palestinian prisoners
United Nations, Oct. 7, UN News: UN officials strongly condemn deadly attacks in Israel
The Guardian, Oct. 8, UN Security Council members condemn Hamas but no unanimity
Billboard, Oct. 10, ‘It Was a Death Trap’: Israeli Rave Massacre Survivors Detail Their Escape as Scores Remain Missing
Rolling Stone, Oct. 15, ‘They Wanted to Dance in Peace. And They Got Slaughtered’
South First Responders, accessed Oct. 19, Telegram page
New York Times, Oct. 16, Hamas Posts Hostage Video of Woman Abducted From Israeli Music Festival
NBC News, Oct. 16, Hamas used ‘precision with no mercy’ during festival attack in Israel, survivors say
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim attack on Israeli festival was a false flag | Fact check