Fact check: Mossad did not describe deceased US airman as 'enemy'

Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty Air Force member died February 25, after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, in protest over the war in Gaza. But claims suggesting that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency branded the airman an "enemy," are false and stem from an impostor account.

"Mossad called a US soldier their enemy while Hamas gave their condolences," says a February 26, 2024 post shared on X, by a user named Jake Shields.

"Our enemies kill themselves," says the included screenshot that shared a photo of the US serviceman self-immolating.

More claims suggesting the remark came from Mossad spread across X and TikTok.

Bushnell live streamed the horrific event, stating he would "no longer be complicit in genocide," before pouring an unknown liquid over himself and igniting it while yelling "Free Palestine" repeatedly.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023 killing about 1,160 people -- mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel responded with a bombardment and subsequent ground invasion of Gaza. The campaign's high civilian death toll, now at more than 29,000, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, has put increased pressure on the United States to urge Israel to agree to a ceasefire.

Although domestic demonstrations have typically involved peaceful street protests, in December a person outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta also set themself on fire.

Bushnell's death has sparked claims reminiscent of many false narratives that have spread since the Hamas attack, as several accounts impersonating government agencies and members of the media on X have contributed to widespread wartime misinformation.

The latest posts similarly stem from an inauthentic account and do not reflect any public statement made by Israeli officials, despite what users suggest.

Mossad's official X page, which the agency's website links to, last posted in September 2020 (archived here). A search conducted by AFP found no evidence this statement was made by an Israeli government agency, nor was it reported by any reputable news outlets.

The posts originate from a page called Mossad Commentary, an account with Twitter Blue marking that has more than 292,000 followers and misleadingly uses Mossad's logo as its profile picture. Although the screenshot from Bushnell's live stream it shared has been deleted -- the remarks made in the same thread can still be found on its page (archived here).

According to a Euronews report, the page has a history of posting misleading information and amplifying false claims about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh debunked a post shared by Mossad Commentary, which claimed to show Israel's Iron Beam, a directed-energy weapon air defense system, but was actually footage from the video game Arma 3 (archived here).

AFP reached out to Mossad for comment but a response was not forthcoming.

More of AFP's reporting on misinformation related to the Israel-Hamas war can be found here.