Israel and Hamas have been locked in a brutal war since October 2023, sparked by Hamas’ attack and resulting in massive civilian loss in Palestine, blockade and territory disputes. As a result, anti-Israel protests have erupted globally—on streets, campuses and UN fronts—with demonstrators calling for divestment, weapon bans and ceasefire, condemning Israeli policy as aggressor and demanding solidarity with Palestinians.
In the above context, a video is widely being shared on social media in which a person is seen hitting a man in a suit. The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it shows an anti-Israel protestor assaulting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “The world is celebrating the rare video of Netanyahu being assaulted,” (Translated from Malayalam)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video does not show Netanyahu, but Likud Party member Eli Dalal.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a journalist on his X account on September 20.
The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Another angle of MK Dalal’s fall. While his advisor moves to confront the police officer, the ones who lift him from the ground are the same officer and another protester.”He had also tweeted another video of the same incident on September 20, with a caption, “Hundreds of protesters are blocking the entrance to the Likud’s toast-raising event in Kfar Saba. Knesset member Eli Dalal arrives at the scene, the police try to clear a path for him, and he falls.”
An Israeli News website Ch 10 had also reported about the incident on September 10. According to the report, anti-government protesters stormed a Rosh Hashanah ‘toast’ event in Kfar Saba held by the Likud party, to oppose the planned appointment of David Zini as head of Shin Bet. They blocked access, broke into the venue and threw objects. MK Eli Dalal tripped and fell amid the crowd; police arrested four protesters. Dalal called the violence a ‘lynching.’
The report also has a screenshot of the viral video. It also has the same video embedded in it.
Using the hints, we searched with relevant keywords and found a report published by Yahoo News on September 21.
According to the report, during an anti-government protest in Kfar Saba, Eli Dalal, an Israeli politician from the Likud party, was knocked down while walking through a crowd. Four people were arrested in connection with the incident.
We found a clear image of the incident from a different angle and where the photo of the victim is clearly visible.
The photo of the incident was shared by Getty Images with a caption that reads, “2025/09/20: Protesters chase Israeli Likud Party MK (Member of Israeli Knesset) Eli Dalal during a demonstration. Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators disrupted a Rosh Hashanah event in Kfar Saba hosted by the ruling Likud party, calling for an end to the war in Gaza, the release of hostages, and opposing the appointment of David Zini as the new head of the Shin Bet security agency. (Photo by Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)”
We compared the image of the man in the viral video with Benjamin Netanyahu’s image and found them to be different.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
