Claim: Footage shows a massive explosion that occurred at the Gujarat airbase in India after it was targeted by Pakistan during the recent conflict between the neighboring countries.
Fact: The video depicts a massive explosion that took place in Beirut, Lebanon, in August 2020, and, therefore, is not related to the India-Pakistan conflict.
A Facebook user posted a video (archive) apparently showing an explosion at the Indian airbase in Gujarat during the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. The caption states: “If there were no internet, then how could we see the destruction of India. Indian airbase in Gujarat has been fully destroyed, Alhamdulillah.”
The post claims that the video of the explosion is from the recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan, which was the most extensive conflict between the two countries since the 1971 war. Pakistan claimed it targeted eight Indian sites, including the Bhuj air base in Gujarat, on May 10 after India attacked Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Murid airbase in Chakwal, and Rafiqui airbase in Shorkot, Punjab. However, no credible news outlet has released footage of the attack on the airbase in Gujarat.
India-Pakistan conflict
On 10 May, Pakistan and India announced a ceasefire after the most expansive military action between the two nuclear nations in decades.
Two days before, on the morning of 8 May, India had launched a wave of drone attacks, killing at least one person, and wounding several. The Pakistan military initially claimed that 25 Indian drones were shot down in different locations across the country, and on the following day claimed that the number of drones shot down had grown to 77.
Indian authorities claimed that the drone attacks were in response to a Pakistani attack on Amritsar the previous night, whereas Pakistan denied that any attacks had been carried out. Subsequent to the drone attacks on Pakistan, India said that Pakistan carried out missile and drone attacks on Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan also denied this allegation, adding that it was “entirely unfounded, politically motivated, and part of a reckless propaganda campaign aimed at maligning Pakistan.”
In the early hours of 7 May, the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor and targeted nine sites inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. These missile strikes constituted the most serious escalation of military hostilities between the two nuclear-armed nations since 1971, killed at least 31 people, including at least three children, and wounded at least 57 others according to Pakistani authorities.
On 10 May, in response to Indian attacks, Pakistan launched “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos” [a structure made of lead], targeting “at least six Indian military bases.”
The strikes carried out by India as part of Operation Sindoor were purportedly in response to the terror attack that took place in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, on 22 April 2025, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
In a statement on 11 May, Pakistan’s foreign office said the nation was “committed to engaging with the United States and the international community in efforts to promote peace, security, and prosperity in the region.”
Fact or Fiction?
Reverse-searching the keyframes revealed that the video is not connected to the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
In August 2021, Voice of America posted a video report (archive), titled “One Year On, Beirut Explosion Seem (sic) as Symbol of Defeat and Resistance.” This footage matches the video from the claim starting from timestamp 0:06, when a massive explosion occurs, and confirms it is not related to the India-Pakistan conflict.
An explosion in Beirut in August 2020 shook the entire city, levelled buildings, and was “felt more than 150 miles away in Cyprus.” It killed approximately 200 people and left more than 6,500 injured. A Human Rights Watch report stated that the explosion occurred due to the “detonation of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a combustible chemical compound,” which was haphazardly stored at the port.
Al Arabiya English also published footage showing the Beirut explosion in August 2021 in its report titled “Probe into deadly Beirut port blast yields no results one year later.” Until 0:03, the video matches the scenes in the footage from the claim, further confirming that the latter is unrelated to any India-Pakistan conflict.
A reverse search also led to an instance of the footage shared on X in August 2020. User “@MarioLeb79” posted an exact video (archive) with the caption: “New Close Video proxi 700 m far from #BeirutBlast. The guy is alive and well now #Lebanon #Beirut.” Starting from timestamp 0:18, this video matches the scene of the explosion in the clip from the claim.
Therefore, Soch Fact Check confirms that the video is old and the claim that it shows the destruction of the airbase in Gujarat, India, is false.
Virality
The Facebook post received 46,500 likes.
It also appeared on Facebook here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram here and YouTube here.
Conclusion: The video does not depict an explosion at an airbase in Gujarat, India, amid the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan. Instead, it shows a massive explosion that occurred in Beirut, Lebanon in August 2020.
Background image in cover photo: Reuters
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