‘Same name, different people’: Journalist shot in Gaza is not Australian
David Williams
August 21, 2024
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
An Australian journalist has been shot by the Israeli military in Gaza.
OUR VERDICT
False. The injured Palestinian journalist shares the same name as a Sydney woman.
AAP FACTCHECK – Social media users claim the Israeli military shot an Australian citizen in Gaza and have called on the federal government to take action against Israel.
But the claim is false. The posts are confusing Palestinian journalist Salma al-Qadoumi – who was injured while reporting in Gaza on Sunday, August 18 – with an Australian woman with a similar name.
The claim is made in a Facebook post, which shares a screenshot of a post on X.
Another Facebook post asks Australian politicians if the shooting will make them take action against Israel “or will you continue on your usual cowardly way?”
A comment beneath the post states: “I will NEVER vote for Labor again. Spineless US lapdogs.”
The original X post reads: “The journalist targeted and shot in the back today was Australian.”
“Australia needs to demand that Israel explain why they just shot this young female graduate from Sydney wearing a PRESS vest in Gaza,” it adds.
The posts show the LinkedIn profile of Salma Al Qadoumi, a graduate interior designer at “BLP” – Australian design company Billard Leece Partnership – which has offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The X account also shares a separate post of a video it says shows Palestinian journalist Salma al-Qadoumi, who is wearing a Press vest.
It is a segment of a Facebook video from digital news group Middle East Eye, which says it shows the Palestinian journalist who was shot on Sunday in Khan Younis.
The woman in the video is not the woman in the LinkedIn profile.
Billard Leece Partnership says Ms Al Qadoumi has not been shot and the posts are false.
“We want to confirm that our BLP employee & interior designer, Salma Al Qadoumi, is safe and well,” a spokeswoman for the company told AAP FactCheck.
“Thank you for reaching out for clarity and expressing your concern. There seems to have been some misinformation, same name but different people.
“We are saddened by what has occurred to the journalist in Gaza.”
The Coalition for Women in Journalism has reported Salma al-Qadoumi was shot in the back by Israeli tank fire while reporting on the escalation of Israel’s ground offensive in Khan Younis.
She was receiving medical treatment at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital at the time of publication. (AAP)
