Israeli soldier in Gaza “raped by three Indian mercenaries”? Beware of rumours

A stolen photo that conveys an anti-India narrative. These accounts continue to claim that the woman’s name is “Sheera Nokam”. They did not specify when and where the attack took place.

The claim began circulating in Arabic on 24 February, before being shared in French. That day, Rozan Kabbas Al Salem, who describes himself as a “researcher of Arabic language and thought” and “a member of the anti-Zionist Jewish movement Neturi Karta”. assures The message, which has been viewed a million times, states that the soldier who was raped is the “daughter of a Knesset deputy” and that the events took place in a “military camp” on the Gaza beach, the details of which will not be included later. Among the most shared French tweets. Contacted, she did not respond.

Fake off

“This ‘story’ is false – in every part, from the rape and murder of a soldier in Gaza by three ‘mercenaries’, to the existence of mercenaries in the Israeli army, the US Embassy in Israel denies it. 20 minutes*. There are no mercenaries in Israel’s army. This is a false allegation. »

Currently, no evidence has actually emerged of “Indian mercenaries” being present alongside the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

Jewish Indians have indeed become soldiers for Israel, as reported by many Indian and Israeli press titles, but they are not mercenaries, fighters who are not members of the regular army. The Israeli military also accepts soldiers of foreign citizenship into its ranks, but again, these soldiers cannot be classified as mercenaries.

As for the photo of the soldier, it is old: it was already online in 2016, as shown by a reverse image search. The photo was added to the izismiles site on a page listing 70 photos of female soldiers in the Israeli army. Her name is not indicated there, so nothing confirms that her name is “Sheera Nokam”.

Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 killed at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held.

According to Hamas’ Ministry of Health, the Israeli offensive killed 29,782 people in Gaza, most of them civilians.

* When contacted, the Indian Embassy did not respond to our requests.