What is the truth behind the circulating video claiming to show the burning of a cemetery for Israeli soldiers in Palestine?
Circulating on social media is a video attached with the text saying "In Palestine, a cemetery for recently buried Israeli soldiers".
The Truth
The attached claim is inaccurate. The video had previously circulated in April 2024 on Russian accounts, indicating that the video shows smoke from a fire in a Jewish cemetery in the city of Derbent, located in the Republic of Dagestan, northern Caucasus, Russia.
Upon further investigation of the Jewish cemetery in the city, we found many videos previously shared from previous years showing details and landmarks of the same cemetery (such as gravestones, the distribution of graves, and their layout).
Additionally, we were able to locate the cemetery via maps, and by tracking the images, it was determined to be a Jewish cemetery in Russia.
There is also a dedicated website for the cemetery, containing markers and images of all the graves and their locations via satellite, along with information about the people buried there.
Therefore, the video does not show the burning of a cemetery for Israeli soldiers in Palestine as claimed. Regarding the cause of the smoke in the cemetery, it was not possible to determine whether it was due to an intentional fire or an accident.
In a related context, Jewish and Christian places of worship in Derbent have recently been attacked, as part of a series of attacks that Dagestan has previously experienced.