'Rivers of blood' viral 'Hamas' video was made by Russian disinformation group, researchers find

(JTA) — A viral video of a purported Hamas threat to the Summer Olympics is actually the work of a Russian disinformation outlet, researchers said.

In the video, which circulated in recent days on X and Telegram, a man wearing a keffiyeh mask and Palestinian flag says in Arabic that “rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris” due to French support for Israel as well as the inclusion of Israelis in the Paris Olympics.

The man also holds up a severed mannequin’s head that appears to be covered with red paint.

Security a top concern for Israeli athletes and attendees

The video comes amid longstanding security concerns over violence against Israelis at the games. Concern has risen since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October, which sparked a global spike in antisemitism.

There were calls to bar Israel from the Paris Olympics, and a far-left French lawmaker recently told a crowd that “the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris.” After that, France’s foreign minister said that Israeli Olympians would receive 24/7 security.

In the case of the video, a Hamas spokesperson claimed it was a forgery, and researchers at Microsoft who reviewed the video backed up that claim. The researchers told NBC News that the video is part of a Russian disinformation campaign from Storm-1516, a group associated with Russia’s infamous Internet Research Agency propaganda operation.

The video bears striking resemblance to another clip that circulated in October, promoting the false claim that Ukraine had supplied weapons to Hamas. Both videos have been spread by Russian propagandists on social media.

“This operation closely aligns with tactics, techniques and procedures observed in previous Storm-1516 operations, including a previous video that similarly pretended to be Hamas,” Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center said in a statement to NBC News.

The security of Israeli athletes at the Olympics has been a concern ever since 11 were murdered in a Palestinian terror attack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. One American Jewish Olympian told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the past violence has made her nervous ahead of this summer’s event.

But as Israel prepared to send one of its largest-ever Olympic delegations to Paris, Israeli and French officials projected confidence that they would be able to keep the nearly 90 Israeli Olympians safe.

“I want to say on behalf of France, to the Israeli delegation, we welcome you to France for these Olympic Games,” Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said.