Old video from 2020 shared as Hamas strike on Tel Aviv’s airport
The video is apparently from the Turkey-Syria Idlib 2020 conflict
Claim: A video on social media shows Hamas firing hundreds of rockets towards Israel’s airport in Tel Aviv.
Fact: The claim is false because the video is not related to the recent Palestine-Israel conflict. It was originally posted in 2020 during the Turkey and Syria conflict in Idlib.
On 7 October 2023, the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, launched an attack on Israel by sea, air, and land. The Israeli government then officially declared war against Hamas and struck Gaza on 8 October 2023.
The war has entered its third day at the time of writing, with the number of casualties being reported on both sides increasing by the hour.
Fact or Fiction?
On 9 October 2023, a blue tick verified account on X (formerly Twitter) posted a video (archived) with the caption, “Hamas fires Hundreds of rockets towards Tel Aviv Airport, Israel.” The 22-second video shows continuous ground missiles firing at night.
To investigate the claim, Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search on keyframes of the video on Yandex.
The results show a news report published by Greek media outlet NewsIt on 4 February 2020. The Greek language headline translated to English reads, “Syria: Unprecedented fighting in Idlib between Assad and Turkey.”
A screenshot of the video can be seen in the news report. It further reads, “Fierce clashes between Assad and Turkish forces in Syria. The war is raging in Idlib province. Panic among residents living the nightmare once again. Shells and natural gas plants. Dozens dead, the tragic toll.” The report also states that Russia took sides with Syria in this matter.
The same video was also posted on a YouTube Channel Rusa News on 4 February 2020. The Russian language video caption headline in English reads, “Video! Türkiye fired at least 60 missiles into Syria!”
Another Russian YouTube Channel also posted the same video on 3 February 2020 linking it to the clashes between Turkey and Syria.
Furthermore, Soch Fact Check searched for news confirming the attack on Tel Aviv airport with relevant keywords but couldn’t find anything except flights being cancelled at the airport.
Virality
The false video on X received 419k views, 3,200 likes, and 800 reposts. Pakistani content creator and TikToker Hareem Shah also posted the false video here. The archived versions can be seen here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, the false claim can be seen here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The video showing Hamas striking Tel Aviv airport in Israel in the current conflict is false, as it has been available on the internet since as early as 2020.
