Two unrelated old images are being shared claiming that people in Gaza Burnt a donkey painted with Israeli flag - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2023
A circulating photo collage features two images—one depicting a donkey painted with the Israeli flag and the other showing a donkey set on fire. This collage is being shared with the claim that individuals in Gaza painted an Israeli flag on the donkey before subsequently burning the animal. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Palestinians in Gaza painted a donkey with the Israeli flag before subsequently burning the animal.
Fact: These are two entirely unrelated photographs. The first was captured on 23 September  2011, in a West Bank settlement during a Palestinian demonstration. The second was taken on 06 August 2014, near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, depicting Palestinians burning a donkey after the animal had been mortally wounded by airstrikes. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Both these images are not related to the current situation in Gaza strip. Both pictures are old and unrelated. Conducting a reverse image search on the photo of a donkey painted with an Israeli flag led us to the same image uploaded on Alamy, a stock image portal.
The description accompanied by the image reads “Palestinians display a donkey painted as an Israeli flag during a demonstration to support the Palestinian bid at the United Nations for statehood recognition on 23 September 2011, in the West Bank village of Kfar Kadum.”
The photograph was captured on 23 September 2011, by photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh, working on behalf of the international news agency AFP.
Numerous news agencies previously reported the same image in 2011, accompanied by the identical description mentioned earlier (here & here). However, there is absolutely no mention or evidence indicating that the Palestinians ultimately burned or killed the animal in question.
On the other hand, the second image of a donkey set ablaze dates back to 2014. A reverse image search of this image led us to a similar image uploaded on Getty Images, a stock image portal. The description associated with the image reads “Palestinians burn the donkey, who was killed earlier by an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on 06 August 2014.”
Hence, this proves that both these images are not connected, as the incident involving the burning of the donkey was documented in the Gaza Strip, occurring three years after the demonstration in a West Bank settlement where a donkey was painted in Israeli colors in 2011. There is no evidence to suggest that the painted donkey was ultimately killed by Palestinians. Conversely, the reported burning of the donkey in 2014 occurred after the animal had been fatally wounded by an aerial bombardment, as per news reports. It is also clear that both these images are not related to the present situation in Gaza.
To sum it up, two unrelated old images are being shared claiming that people in Gaza Burnt a donkey painted as an Israeli flag.