Fake Mossad account spreads misinformation about airstrike that killed aid workers in Gaza

CLAIM: Israel said that the deaths of seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen in the Gaza Strip Monday night were caused by a roadside bomb planted by Hamas.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. No Israeli officials have publicly made such a statement. An X account impersonating the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad wrote soon after news of the incident broke that it appeared to have been caused “by a side bomb planted by Hamas.” The Israeli military said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday that the deaths “occurred as a result of an IDF strike.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that the country’s forces had carried out an “unintended strike” in Gaza.

THE FACTS: Following the Israeli airstrikes that killed the World Central Kitchen workers and led the charity to suspend delivery of vital food aid to Gaza, social media users claimed that Israel had blamed Hamas for the incident.