The photo was shared in similar posts around the world, including in Australia, the United Kingdom and Israel.
Israel’s more than six-month war against Hamas in Gaza has sparked a humanitarian crisis and the country faces growing pressure to allow more aid deliveries as the United Nations warns of looming famine.
The war began with the Hamas attack on October 7, which killed about 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 34,500 people, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled territory
The information war, which runs parallel to the conflict on the ground, has led to conspiracy theorists accusing ordinary Palestinians and Israelis of being “crisis actors” – faking injuries and deaths to garner sympathy and demonize the other side.
Some of the most viral posts targeting war-affected Gazans use the term “Pallywood,” a derogatory term that conflates “Palestine” with “Hollywood.”
“Deceptive, unsubstantiated” claim
A reverse image search on Google found the photo of trucks posted on the Jordanian prime minister’s Facebook page X Accounts on April 7, 2024 (archived links here and here).
According to the posts, the image shows part of a convoy of 105 trucks “loaded with food” in Jordan that were heading to Gaza as part of the relief effort organized by the JOrdan Hashemite Charitable Organization (JHCO).
“The Jordanian Hashemite Charitable Organization announced today, Sunday, the deployment of the largest land convoy to families in #Gaza in collaboration with the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army,” the posts read in Arabic.
The JHCO posted a video on Facebook the same day showing helpers loading packages onto the trucks (archived link).
While the JHCO logo is printed on the side of the trucks, the packages themselves say “Al-Imdaad Foundation,” referring to a relief organization that works with the JHCO.
The video appears to show the same boxes and warehouse as the photo circulating on Facebook.
JHCO spokesman Shahd Anani said the claim that the packages contained cigarettes was “so far from the truth.”
“JHCO’s relief trucks, in collaboration with many humanitarian organizations, are loaded only with food, medical supplies and other supplies, all with loading lists down to the last and smallest items.” she told AFP on April 28.
The Associated Press (AP) news agency published footage showing the convoy of trucks on April 8 (archived link).
Al-Imdaad Foundation has published videos on YouTube 7th of April shows aid workers packing packages and shows packages arriving in Gaza on April 18 (archived links). Here and here).
Al-Imdaad Foundation’s country director for Jordan, Zakaria Al-Sheikh, confirmed that the trucks in the photo shared on Facebook belonged to the foundation and were part of a larger convoy sent from Jordan to Gaza on April 7.
“The aid packages shown in the posts are actually our food packages with AIF logos. “Each food package contains 20 items of much-needed essentials in Gaza, such as rice, sugar, flour, oil, etc., NOT cigarettes,” he told AFP on April 23.
He dismissed social media posts as “fraudulent and baseless.”
Al-Sheikh provided AFP with a photo showing the contents of a package. This photo can also be seen at 1:27 in a video the charity posted to YouTube on April 18.
“Al-Imdaad Foundation has never purchased cigarettes or other tobacco-related products in its 20-year history,” he said.
He added that goods shipped to Gaza are subject to inspection by Jordanian authorities and other organizations before entering the territory.
“The idea that humanitarian NGOs would allow cigarettes into Gaza is completely baseless and beyond our imagination.”