‘Palestinian baby’ doll is art, not a real toy made in Israel

A video showing a “Palestinian baby” doll covered in blood and dust is circulating online with claims it’s a genuine toy made in Israel. But this actually shows a piece of “activist art”. 

The video shows a doll of an injured baby that is sealed in packaging along with smaller toy soldiers and appears on sale among other ordinary dolls. The label features an image of soldiers and military aircraft with the flags for Israel, the US, NATO and the EU on top. Large text written in Spanish says: “Includes Palestinian baby” and “Elite Soldiers” (translated by Google), with a stamp saying “made in Israel”. 

A version of the video has been shared on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok with overlaid text saying: “Palestinian baby doll Made in Israel… This is sickening.”

Several posts have the caption: “A bizarre video has emerged of a toy doll depicting a Palestinian baby being sold in Mexico. The toy is labelled as made in Israel”. Another says “Israel is making fun of Palestinian children suffering amid the ongoing war in Gaza.” 

The claim comes amid reports of “more than 10,000” children being killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.  Full Fact cannot verify this figure. 

However, the doll is not a genuine product. It is actually a piece of pro-Palestinian art. Full Fact could find no evidence that any such doll was being made or sold in Israel. 

The clip is part of a longer video posted to Instagram on 6 January. The account sharing the video says in its bio that the “Palestinian Baby is a pro-Palestinian activist art intervention“ (translated by Google). 

The artist has shared other images of the doll as well as a video showing it being made. One post, written in Spanish, says that the project “tries to make visible what happens every day in Gaza” (translated by Google) and that street toy merchants were happy to lend their stalls for the photos and video to be taken. 

The caption locates the scene to a market in the Doctores neighbourhood of Mexico City. 

The artist confirmed to Full Fact that there is only one doll and it’s not for sale anywhere. They said the doll is currently part of a gallery exhibition of their work in Oaxaca, Mexico, and will also be shown at an art fair in Mexico City. 

Full Fact has written about many examples of misinformation relating to the war in Israel and Gaza, particularly images and videos that have been miscaptioned. It’s important to consider whether something shows what it claims to show before sharing it online. You can find information on how to do this in our guides on spotting misleading images and videos. 

Image courtesy of Wafa