Posts falsely claim Israel defense chief killed by drones | Fact check

An Oct. 13 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a red X drawn across a photo of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi along with a red dot on his forehead.
“HEZBOLLAH ASSASSINATED Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, using advanced Fiber-Optic Drones,” the post’s caption reads in part.
A previous version of the claim garnered more than 4,000 likes in three days before it was deleted. Other versions of the claim were shared on X, formerly Twitter.
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Halevi was not killed in the Hezbollah drone attack referenced in the post. He made a public appearance a day after the post was shared.
Hezbollah launched a fleet of drones at an Israeli military base on Oct. 13, killing four soldiers and injuring 61. The Iran-backed militant group said it used the “swarm” of unmanned aircraft to strike a camp used by Israel’s Golani Brigade in Binyamina, about 35 miles north of Tel Aviv.
But the chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces was not one of the four people killed.
The IDF shared a photo on X of Halevi visiting the base Oct. 14, the day after the Facebook post was shared. The photo was also published by The Times of Israel.
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Getty Images published two other photos of Halevi visiting the base the same day.
The post’s author didn’t provide evidence to back up the claim that Hezbollah assassinated Halevi when contacted by USA TODAY.
USA TODAY reached out to the IDF and to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
AFP also debunked the claim.
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