Harrowing Gaza Video Allegedly Shows Palestinian Boy Shot While Searching Ruins for Flour

A viral video on Threads appears to show a Palestinian boy being shot in the left side of his chest while carrying a sack on his shoulders. The video has not been independently verified as authentic, but the social media poster shared the following claim: 'A Palestinian child in Gaza risked his life to retrieve a bag of flour from his family's destroyed home, desperate to survive starvation.'

'As he tried to leave, he was SHOT AND KILLED by an "Israeli" terror-occupation sniper. His crime? Trying to feed his family,' the post also said. The video came with a warning: 'Difficult to Watch.'

Reactions to the Harrowing Video

A similar video was shared on X with the caption: 'His little shoulders were carrying flour, not weapons. He was just a child trying to survive, not a threat to anyone.'

'Saddest part? The Americans gave that sniper his gun,' one user commented on the video. Others said they could not stomach watching the short clip.

However, some social media users have questioned the video's authenticity. Meta's integrated AI tool could not verify the specific clip, stating: 'I can't verify this specific clip from what I can find... What I can confirm from search is that the area you mentioned — near the Israeli-controlled "Yellow Line" in Gaza — has had many reported shootings, including of children, since the ceasefire.'

Grok, X's integrated AI tool, claimed that the video was not real, citing context shared by X users. 'This video is behind-the-scenes footage from a 2022 fictional short film by Palestinian director Mahmoud Maher Zaqout about rescue workers, not real incident footage,' Grok stated.

Fact-Checking the Viral Video

However, previous fact-checks of footage attributed to Zaqout show a different behind-the-scenes video. That clip features a boy with a bloody face wearing a red hoodie.

The older footage was identified as behind-the-scenes material from Zaqout's 2022 short film 'Al-Ahed,' also translated as 'The Covenant,' about Palestinian rescue workers. Fact-checkers found that the footage had been filmed before the current war and was misleadingly shared as evidence of Palestinians faking injuries.

However, those findings do not, by themselves, establish whether the newly circulating video of a boy allegedly shot while carrying flour is authentic. The origin of this specific clip remains unverified based on the available evidence.

UN: Palestinian Children Have Been 'Targeted'

The authenticity of this particular video remains unverified, but the deaths and injuries of Palestinian children in Gaza are documented. In a report published in June 2026, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said at least 20,179 Palestinian children had been killed and 44,143 injured between 7 October 2023 and 7 October 2025.

'The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,' said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the UN commission.

'Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law,' he said.