After 738 days of captivity, the remaining surviving Israeli hostages have been released from Gaza. At the same time, social media has been flooded with false and misleading claims about a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza and freed hostages – spreading confusion and polarizing public sentiment. The DW Fact Check team examines some of the most viral examples.
Did no female hostage survive in Gaza?
claim: “All the hostage women are dead. Where is the outrage? Barbarism”, Laura Loomer wroteFollowing the news of the release of Israeli hostages on October 13, 2025, an influential far-right activist.
DW Fact Check: false
This claim is not true, and here’s why: On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages in the Gaza Strip. according to israeli foreign ministry (Updated June 22, 2025), A total of 57 dead hostages have been repatriated to Israel so far. Israel says the bodies of at least 27 executed hostages kidnapped on October 7 are still in the possession of Hamas.
On October 13, the 20 surviving hostages—an all-male group—were released by Hamas. According to media reportsBut several female hostages had already been freed in earlier exchanges.
Especially during the first ceasefire in November 2023, Many children and female hostages were released From the captivity of Hamas. Additionally, on January 19, 2025, Hamas released 33 hostages, including three women: Romy Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari.
Four female Israeli soldiers – Karina Ariev, Liri Albagh, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy – were releasedOn 25 January 2025.
A total of 117 hostages have been released so far, including many women and children. according to israel defense forcesThere are no longer any surviving Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.
Old footage shows celebration of new ceasefire
claim: One X user wrote, “Hamas is the only army in the world that wears civilian clothes during war and uniforms during ceasefire.” sharingA photo purportedly showing uniformed Hamas fighters celebrating the recent ceasefire in Gaza. The post quickly went viral and was viewed more than 2.5 million times. The same claim has since been shared on multiple platforms – including Facebook– and in different languages, like Spanish, PersianAnd Polish,
DW Fact Check: misleading
some users notesConsider the image as one taken after the current ceasefire came into force. This is not that thing. Reverse image search reveals that the photo is actually a still from a longer video. It is circulating with similar claims, for example RussianStating: “As soon as the ceasefire comes in, Gaza is filled with excited, armed people in military uniforms”.
These posts suggest that the footage is from the latest ceasefire, but the video is old and unrelated to current events. There was already a 17 second video PostedOn January 26, 2025. At the time, people in Gaza were celebrating the peace agreement that was in effect from January 19 to March 18, 2025.
A luxury car to celebrate the armistice?
claim: Video shared of a luxury car driving through the debris of destroyed buildings
DW Fact Check: false
While the video actually shows a BMW M4 Passing through a destroyed area, the video is not linked to recent events in Gaza.
Using reverse image search, DW can locate at least one video May 2025A few months before the current ceasefire.
The claim also overstates the car’s value: while the BMW M4 is a high-performance vehicle, the 2025 base model will startAt around $80,875, depending on configuration and market. The $170,000 figure likely refers to the highly customized or limited edition version, not the standard model shown in the video.
Additionally, the claim states that the “Gaza Genocide” never existed. But united nations Commissions as well as at least two Israeli NGOs International Association of Genocide Scholarshas described the scale of the killings as genocide.
Did Israel use booby-trapped Teletubbies in Gaza?
claim: “BREAKING – Gaza Civil Defense: We found stranded children’s toys and canned food, planted by the occupier deliberately to cause more casualties,” one X user wrote in reference to Israel. Post3.5 million views.
Attached to the post were photos of a Tinky Winky stuffed animal, the famous purple character from the Teletubbies children’s program, which was equipped with an improvised explosive device (IED).
DW Fact Check: false
Images are not current – they have been screenshotted july 2018 videoOf Yemen, as we found out from reverse image search.
that video was made Project MasamA Saudi-funded humanitarian group that clears landmines in Yemen. In the original video, a man can be seen cutting the toy and removing the explosive.
Yemen is one of the most landmine-contaminated countries in the world, according to The International Committee of the Red Cross,
While the photo was clearly taken from a different context, the caption itself appears to be attributed to the Gaza Civil Protection Agency. variousArabmedia A spokesperson made the claim about children’s toys, outlets reported Saturday. However, DW Fact Check found no evidence of this.
Edited by: Katherine Wesolowski