Hyderabad: After Iran bombarded missile strikes into Israeli territory on October 1, many social media users began claiming that Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant was killed in the attack.
The escalation marks Iran’s second major assault this year, following an earlier attack in April involving missiles and drones.
An X user shared a photo of Yoav Gallant and wrote, “BREAKING NEWS: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant killed by Iranian missile attacks.”
Southcheck found that the claim is false. No credible news sources reported Gallant’s death.
We searched through Yoav Gallant’s official X account to check for any such updates and to see the latest activity on the account after the missile strikes.
The last post made from the account was at 4:38 pm (IST) on October 2. The caption read: “This morning, I arrived at one of the arrow batteries that participated in yesterday’s interception of the Iranian attack. The air defence fighters saved many lives, thanks to them we can continue our just war, and come to terms with anyone who tries to harm us.” (Translated from Hebrew)
The post included a photo of Gallant meeting the security forces.
We also found that US secretary of defense Lloyd J Austin III stated that he spoke to Yoav Gallant about Iran’s October 1 attack.
In a post from his official X account at 8:10 am (IST) on October 2, he wrote, “I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today following today’s outrageous act of aggression by Iran against Israel. The Minister and I expressed mutual appreciation for the coordinated defense of Israel against nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran and committed to remain in close contact. I also expressed my deepest condolences to the families impacted by the horrific and deadly terrorist shooting in Israel. (sic)”
Their discussion was also confirmed in a report by the Times of Israel. The report ‘Gallant and Austin spoke shortly after Iranian attack, says Pentagon’, published on October 1 at 10:59 pm, stated that Gallant and Austin spoke shortly after the Iranian attack. Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder was mentioned as the source in the report.
Using a keyword search, we also found a press release from the US Department of Defense on October 1 which further confirmed Gallant’s continued involvement in the escalation of crises in the Middle East. “The Secretary (Lloyd J. Austin III) and Minister (Yoav) Gallant discussed the severe consequences for Iran in the event Iran chooses to launch a direct military attack against Israel,” the public note said.
Moreover, we found a video report by the Tribune, published on October 2, titled, ‘Israel Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant at display of Hezbollah weapons retrieved by IDF troops’. In the 1:41-minute video, Yoav Gallant is seen inspecting weapons alongside IDF troops. The report also showed him speaking to the camera about the ammunition recovered by the security forces.
Hence, the claim that Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant was killed in Iran’s missile attack on October 1 is false.
