Viral video showing Al-Aqsa Mosque has been destroyed

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan reviewed this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image and keyword search to corroborate the alleged development.

Posts from multiple users on Facebook since April 10, 2025, shared a video of a broken dome, claiming that the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque has been demolished. However, the destroyed structure in the visuals is the Al Amin Muhammad Mosque in Khan Younis.

The Israeli offensive, which began in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the housing and hospital infrastructure in the enclave. The death toll is feared to be much higher due to thousands still missing under the rubble.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is seen as a symbol of resistance for Palestinians against the Israeli occupation. Over the past few years, the mosque has seen numerous raids by Israeli settlers and military, with 21 raids in the holy month of Ramazan alone in March 2025.

HOW IT STARTED

The iVerify Pakistan team was alerted on April 10 about a Facebook post and requested authentication for the content.

On April 10, a page on Facebook posted a video of a broken golden dome with rubble scattered all around it.

The caption of the post said, “The first qiblah (direction of prayer) Al-Aqsa Mosque was also martyred. Oh God, help us.”

The post was viewed 1.1 million times and shared 2,700 times with 1,600 reactions.

The same video was shared on Facebook multiple times with the same caption here, here, here and here.

While the videos above were posted on April 10, other Facebook users continued to share the footage on April 11 with the same caption here, here and here.

The video was also shared on TikTok.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of this claim due to its virality, to satisfy the public’s request for authentication and the public’s interest in Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza and the religious significance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A keyword search to corroborate the development did not yield any news reports or videos about the alleged destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque despite the gap in the two waves of posts being shared on social media. A development such as the destruction of Islam’s third holiest site would be expected to have generated global headlines and breaking news but no results were found.

A reverse image search yielded an October 9, 2023, news report by international wire news agency Reuters with the headline reading, “Israel retaliates after Hamas attacks, deaths pass 1,100.”

The article began with a video featuring a destroyed golden mosque dome with rubble around it, matching the description seen in the video under investigation. “People search through the remains of a mosque in Khan Younis in southern Gaza,” said the voiceover artist at the beginning of the video as it showed the broken golden dome.

However, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in the city of Jerusalem, not Khan Younis.

In the video under investigation, the broken dome and rubble appeared to be between a blue-and-white coloured building and a yellow structure. Comparing the position of the landmarks with the Reuters video confirmed the demolished site is the same as seen in the footage.

An Instagram post by English media outlet Geo News, dated October 8, 2023, shared images of the same broken golden dome and reported its name to be Al Amin Muhammad Mosque.

A keyword search of “Al Amin Muhammad Mosque destroyed” yielded several news reports from the same timeline of October 2023 reporting on Israel’s attack on the site, confirming that the video under investigation did not show Al-Aqsa Mosque but the Al Amin Muhammad Mosque in the city of Khan Younis.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a viral video of a broken golden dome shows the destroyed Al-Aqsa Mosque is misleading.

The structure in the video is the Al Amin Muhammad Mosque in Khan Younis which was destroyed in an Israeli attack in October 2023. Those sharing the video banked on the similarity of its dome to that of the Dome of the Rock shrine located on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and often misidentified with the entire mosque itself.

Evidence and References

October 9, 2023, Reuters news report:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-forces-clash-with-hamas-gunmen-after-hundreds-killed-2023-10-08/

October 8, 2023, Geo News Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/geonewsdottv/p/CyJKED4IuMv/?img_index=1

October 8, 2023, Morocco World News report:
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/10/28351/israeli-strike-destroys-al-amin-muhammad-mosque-in-gaza/