Old footage is viral after Iran's attack on Israel

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched over 180 missiles toward Israeli territory yesterday evening.

The IRGC maintained that 90 percent of the projectiles had hit their target, but the Israeli military said while some missiles reached central and southern Israel, many were intercepted by Israel's air defense systems. U.S. and U.K. military were also involved in responding to the attacks.

Details of the damage are emerging at the time of writing. A BBC correspondent in Jerusalem reported that military bases, restaurants, and schools had been hit, and CNN reported that homes in central Israel had been damaged by shock waves from the attack. A CNN analysis of geolocated videos suggests that a "significant concentration of missiles" fell at or near the headquarters of Mossad, Nevatim Air Base, and Tel Nof Air Base. However, Israeli officials have reported no serious injuries or casualties. 

This is Iran's first attack since April and its second this year, which is an escalation from the decades-long shadow wars between the two countries. According to a U.S. Pentagon spokesperson, yesterday's attack was twice as large and included more ballistic missiles, which are more difficult to intercept, and forced many Israeli citizens to evacuate to shelters.

The operation is said to be a retaliation to Israel killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan in Lebanon on September 27, as well as the suspected Israeli assassination of the Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. It also happened less than 24 hours after Israel announced its ground invasion of southern Lebanon to fight Hezbollah. 

Israel has vowed that Iran "will pay" for the attack, and Iran has said that an Israeli response will be met with "stronger and more painful" blows. This has sparked fears that the Middle East could be heading closer to a regionwide war.

Social media has been awash with footage claiming to show Iran's airstrikes, but several of these are unrelated and misleading. Many have also been repurposed repeatedly over multiple breaking news events, each time claiming to show something different. Here's a handful of viral videos to watch out for.

Arma 3 footage falsely attributed to Iran's attack on Israel

A video on X with over 139,000 views claims to show an Iranian aircraft attacking Israel. This is false; the video is from the video game Arma 3, not from the Middle East.

By reverse image searching, Logically Facts found several videos from the game Arma 3 – such as this example – showing the same jet plane, cannon, and red beams. 

The video also predates Iran's attack on Israel. On January 6, 2023, the same account shared the same Arma 3 video and claimed it was filmed in Culiacán, Mexico. It did so again on June 23, 2023, this time claiming it showed a Russian aircraft being shot down by Wagner forces in Voronezh Oblast, Russia. 

Source: X/YouTube/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts 

Video shows people in airport fleeing from Tel Aviv

This X post, with over 500,000 views, claims to show people running outside an airport in Tel Aviv trying to flee Iran's attack. 

However, by looking at the TikTok watermark, Logically Found found the original TikTok video – which dates back to October 9, 2023. The video's hashtags include "Natbag," which is the Hebrew acronym for Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. 

Source: X/TikTok/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts

Similar claims have emerged before. In April this year, Logically Facts debunked a viral photo claiming to show a "mass exodus" of people at Ben Gurion Airport amid tensions with Iran – showing it actually captured travelers ahead of the Jewish Passover holiday during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. In June, another photo went viral, claiming to show thousands of Israelis at Ben Gurion Airport, trying to flee a coming war with Lebanon. This photo, too, was originally captured during COVID-19 in December 2021.

Video shows Israel's Iron Dome after Iran launched missiles

This TikTok video claims to show Iran's missiles launch into Israel, hitting the aerial defense system Iron Dome. Given The Telegraph's logo, you might think it's credible. 

But the video is actually from October 12, 2023, and shows the Iron Dome intercepting Hamas rockets. The original video can be found on The Telegraph's YouTube channel. 

The same video appeared during Iran's first strike in April 2024, also claiming to show Iranian missiles rather than Hamas rockets, which Logically Facts debunked at the time.

Source: TikTok/YouTube/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts

Video shows first images of Iran attacking Israel

This video, which has been seen over 1.6 million times via this X post, allegedly captures the moment an Irani missile hits a building in Tel Aviv. Actually, the video captures a Ukrainian drone crashing into a building in Moscow, Russia in July 2023. 

Source: X/BBC/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts

Read the full fact-check here.

Video shows Iran striking Israel

This video circulating on X claims to show a huge fireball explosion following an Iranian missile strike in Israel and has been seen over 125,000 times. In reality, the dramatic explosion was filmed in the port city of Aden, Yemen, back in August 2024. 

We found the same video in a Sky News article, which explained that the explosion is believed to have happened at a petrol station.

Source: X/Sky News/Screenshots/ Modified by Logically Facts

Read the full fact-check here.

Video shows Netanyahu running to a bunker

Several users shared a video of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supposedly running to a bunker during Iran's attack, with one X post gaining over 2.2 million views.

This video, however, was first shared by Netanyahu himself in an X post on December 13, 2021 with the caption "I am always proud to run for you." According to local media, the video shows Netanyahu running through Knesset's corridors to a vote in the Plenum.

Source: X/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts

Read the full fact-check here.

One last thing…

Social media platforms regularly get flooded with misattributed or fake footage during breaking news events, and it's likely to happen again.

That's why we've put together a guide to help you verify all the photos, videos, and statements filling up your feed.