The news circulating online is fabricated, and the story of the discovered pickup trucks is completely fictitious. The Times of Israel has not published any such reports on its website or social media platforms.
Some users are sharing a one-minute video bearing the logo of the Israeli publication The Times of Israel. The video claims that during a recent raid in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces allegedly discovered two US-supplied fire trucks at a Hamas facility that had previously been provided as aid to Ukraine.
“The vehicles were repainted and heavy machine guns were mounted in their beds,” the posts said.
In fact, this information is false. The purpose of this fake story is to undermine Ukraine’s credibility with its partners.
The video circulating online mimics the style of the Times of Israel’s video reports – notably with the company’s logo in the upper left corner. However, there is no such report on the Israeli media company’s official website or social media channels.
Even the design of the “video report” being circulated indicates its fakeness. The Times of Israel does not use the font seen in the video. In addition, the outlet typically places its logo at the bottom of the screen in its recent video releases, unlike the logo placement at the top in this fake video.
Finally, the fact that this story is completely fabricated is evident from the lack of coverage of such an incident by any credible publication, including local Israeli media.
According to the Osavul service, the video was first posted on January 14 by the propaganda Telegram channel “Военный обозреватель” (“Military Observer”).
To create this fake, the propagandists used footage of pickup trucks and fire engines from Los Angeles. To make the video appear more credible, they included a fabricated comment purportedly from Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi: “This is a shocking revelation, considering that the U.S. is our main partner in the fight against terrorism, and we see how Ukraine misuses humanitarian aid.” In fact, Herzi Halevi never made such a statement. The propagandists used footage from a September 2024 press conference by the Chief of Staff, where issues of national security and the war in Gaza were discussed.
Previously, StopFake reported that according to press releases from US fire departments that provided material aid to Ukrainian rescuers throughout 2022, no fire trucks were delivered to Ukraine. An analysis of reports by the American publication Newsweek also showed that the humanitarian aid provided to the Ukrainian fire service included hoses, nozzles, turnouts, helmets, bulletproof vests and other protective equipment.
To discredit Ukraine among its partners, the propaganda machine has previously spread false information claiming that Ukrainian officials “resold” Javelins to Hamas and Hezbollah militants, or that Hamas used weapons supplied to Ukraine for attacks on Israel.
