Claim: A video shows explosions and fire after Iran attacked Israel in April 2024.
Fact: The video has nothing to do with Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel. It is from March 2024 and shows a Ukrainian attack on two Russian vessels amid the ongoing war.
On 15 April 2024, Threads user @rehan_khan_x posted a video (archive) with the caption, “Breaking: Iranian bombing in Israel”. The 13-second-long video shows two missile explosions and fire erupting afterwards.
Iran’s attack on Israel
The video went viral on social media soon after Iran launched 300 missiles and drones towards Israel on 13 April. The attacks were launched in retaliation after a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria on 1 April that killed 13 people.
United States President Joe Biden condemned the ‘unprecedented’ strike, claiming that the US assisted Israel in intercepting nearly all missiles and drones aimed at the country. Israel’s allies in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia have called for restraint, just as Russia and China have urged caution to Iran.
Israel launched a retaliatory attack targeting a military base in Iran later on 19 April but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation. However, despite the rising tensions between the two countries and within the Middle East, Israel continues its attacks on Gaza.
Fact or Fiction?
To investigate, Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search on the video keyframes, leading to an article published by The Sun on 23 March 2024.
In The Sun’s article, screen grabs from the same video as that of the viral post are featured. According to this article, the video shows when Ukraine hit two Russian warships named Yamal and Azov in an overnight strike in Crimea. The airstrike was carried out at Sevastopol port where warships were stationed, the report adds.
Spanish media outlet, El Debate also reported on Ukraine’s attack on 24 March. The article contains an embedded tweet with the video in question, suggesting that the video depicts “Ukrainian missiles hit two large landing ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet”. According to a part of the tweet’s caption, posted by UK R REPORT, the video shows “the biggest attack on Sevastopol” and it is entirely unrelated to the recent escalation between Iran and Israel.
#UPDATE :⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦Storm Shadow missiles were used in Sevastopol. It was reported that more than 30 missiles were shot down.
— It is reported to be the biggest attack on Sevastopol. pic.twitter.com/kU9t300Csx
— UK R REPORT (@UKR_Report) March 23, 2024
Virality
The video was widely shared with the false claim on X. It received 76,900 views, 3,900 likes and 1,300 reposts. It can be seen here, here and here.
It was shared here, here and here on Facebook and here on YouTube.
Conclusion: A video claiming to show bombing by Iran on Israel has nothing to do with the recent escalation between the two countries. The video is from March 2024 and shows a Ukrainian missile attack on two Russian vessels.
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