Do these videos show Iran's attack on Israel?
October 2, 2024
Iran fired about 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday evening. Most of the missiles were intercepted by Israel's air defense system Iron Dome, and the US and Jordan, according to Israel's military forces IDF. But some missiles did manage to hit targets in Israel. Videos and photos quickly surfaced online, allegedly showing the fallout, with some clocking views in the millions.
However, some videos didn't show the Tuesday attack but recycled older footage of unrelated events. DW's fact checking team has seen videos taken out of context repeatedly during escalating conflicts and looked into some of the most viral claims online relating to the attack.
This explosion didn't happen in Israel but in Yemen
Claim: A social media user on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted a video allegedly showing Iran's attack on Israel. "Urgent: Clips have emerged revealing the extent of the massive destruction in Israel as a result of the Iranian attack," writes this user in Arabic. The video has been viewed over 600,000 times.
DW Fact check: False.
A reverse image search shows the video was already posted on August 30 — so the event depicted in the video happened well before Iran's attack on Israel on October 1. The video shows an explosion of a gas station in the port city of Aden in Yemen. Several media outlets reported on the incident when it happened and published footage of the blast. This particular video of the blast in Yemen has been repeatedly used in other contexts on social media, for example, to claim that it showed an attack by Hezbollah on Israel.
No, these videos don't show attacks on Mossad headquarters
Claim: Does this video on X show an attack on Israel? This X user claims this video shows a "huge explosion in Tel Aviv at Mossad headquarters." The video was viewed close to 600,000 times.
DW Fact check: False.
This video also is in no way linked to the current attack on Israel. A reverse image search takes us to the Chinese port city of Tianjin where two massive explosions on August 12, 2015 killed 173 people. Several media outlets such as The Guardian reported on the accident over nine years ago and also named the eyewitness as the source of the footage. This video has also been used to claim it showed explosions in other conflicts and wars, for instance in the Ukraine-Russia war.
But it is not the only video that allegedly shows the attack on the Mossad headquarters.
Claim: This post also claims to prove that an Iranian missile severely hit the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv.
DW Fact check: False.
While there has indeed been a missile attack close to Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Mossad building itself wasn't hit. Eyewitnesses recorded video footage of where the missile landed and walked around the crater. Reporter Nick Schifrin documented the proximity to the headquarters in a TV piece to camera and named the Mossad as a possible target. Both videos appear to show the same crater and surroundings.
Netanyahu on the run to a bunker?
Claim: "Enjoy the scene of Netanyahu's escape a little while ago," some social media users said in X posts in Arabic. The video shows Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sprinting through corridors — allegedly to find safety in a bunker. The X account Aussie Cossack that's known for its fake content writes: "Leaked video of Israeli Leader Netanyahu running to the Presidential Nuclear Bunker!" The post has over 100,000 views.
DW Fact check: False.
Netanyahu himself had posted the video back in December 2021 when X was still called Twitter, blasting the rock song "Eye of the Tiger." According to Netanyahu's comment, it shows him in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
A wedding under a sky full of missiles?
Claim: "A Beirut couple got married under the lights of Iranian missiles heading towards Israel!" This claim was shared alongside an image of a couple in wedding attire, with bright lights resembling stars - or missiles streaking across the dark sky in the background. The photo has gone viral, being shared by thousands of users and viewed millions of times across social media platforms like Instagram and X.
DW Fact check: Fake.
The image is digitally manipulated. The contrast between the well-lit couple and the dark, missile-filled sky is unnatural. The couple is illuminated by daylight, while the background is unusually dark, which suggests digital editing.
There is also a visible error on the left side of the photo where the stone wall meets the sky. The uneven line appears to result from poor blending during the editing process. An analysis with the online tool Forensically that detects digitally altered manipulations confirms suspicions of image tampering. The sharp edge suggests the background was cropped from another image and added to the couple's scene.
A reverse image search of the lights in the sky shows that this part of the image resembles user-generated contentthat has circulated online in the past hours and purportedly shows missiles Iran fired at Israel.
Emad Hassan contributed to this report.
Edited by: Rachel Baig