The Qatari TV channel Al Araby released a story about the alleged participation of Ukrainians in the fighting in the Gaza Strip on the side of Israel. The plot is based on a video from a helmet camera of a Russian-speaking fighter.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine denied the alleged presence of Ukrainian military in the Gaza Strip. The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleh Nikolenko emphasized that Ukraine did not send its troops either to the Gaza Strip or to any other region of the world.
"The Ukrainian army is defending its territory from Russian aggression. Perhaps [in the video] Alaraby TV is about citizens of Israel of Ukrainian or Slavic origin, but they have no relation to the Ukrainian state," noted Nikolenko.
In the upper right corner of the video, you can see that it was taken from the Telegram channel with the address cloudwalkerua. This channel is hosted by Viktor Fridman, a native of Dnipro who moved to Israel in 2015 and served there in the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces]. Judging by his social networks, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Fridman returned to defend his homeland. He took part in the battles for Kyiv, in the Kharkiv region. Fridman writes that he was a fighter of the International Legion subordinate to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (also known as GUR).
After the Hamas attack on Israel, all of Friedmanʼs videos were from Israel. There he rejoined the IDF. Apparently, he is a repatriate, a citizen of Israel, so he is legally fighting in the IDF.
The war between Israel and Hamas
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel and killed nearly 1,400 people, mostly civilians. They took more than 200 people hostage. In response, Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip, and on October 25 — a ground operation in the exclave.
A truce between Israel and Hamas began on November 24. during the seven-day truce, Israel managed to release more than 100 hostages. Approximately 130 Israelis and foreign nationals remain in captivity in Gaza today.
On December 2, Israelʼs defense minister said the IDF was resuming fighting in the Gaza Strip after a negotiating team in Qatar was sent home as talks to extend the truce reached an "impasse". Fierce fighting continues in the cities of Gaza and Jabalia. Israeli aircraft and artillery continue to destroy the Gaza Strip with intense fire.