Similar claims were shared here on Facebook; and on the South Korean forums Naver Band and DC Inside.
However, the image shows a protest in Iran in connection with the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Iranian protest
Google reverse image search found the image published by the West Asia News Agency, an Iran-based news organization, on November 13, 2023 (archived link).
“An Iranian man sits next to the symbolic shrouds of the dead bodies of Gaza children during a gesture on a street in Tehran, Iran. November 13, 2023,” said the photo‘s caption read.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the image shared on Facebook with the false claim (left) and the original photo published by the West Asia News Agency (right):
The photo was one of nine from the same event, which AFP traced to Felestin Square in the Iranian capital Tehran (archived link).
aAccording to a Reuters news agency report that included the same photo, the image shows one of many protests being held across Iran in the run-up to World Children’s Day against the deaths of children and other civilians in the ongoing war in Gaza (archived link).
About 4,000 bundled white shrouds the size of children were placed on the ground in memory of the Palestinian victims as a “work of art” titled “Symphony of the Dead,” according to the state-run Iranian Republic News Agency, which also included several photos . of the event on November 14 (archived link).
The October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also seized hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, although the army says 41 are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,626 people, mostly civilians, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Other photos of the Felestin Square protest were published in international news reports, including here and here (archived links here and here).
AFP has debunked disinformation about the Hajj pilgrimage here.
