2021 video does not show Israel’s Netanyahu fleeing 2024 Iranian missile attack

Context

An old video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu running through corridors has gone viral on social media, falsely claiming to show him fleeing to a bunker amid Iran's missile attack on Israel on October 1. Examples of such posts on X (formerly Twitter) can be found here, here, here, here, and here. Together, the posts have reached nearly three million views. The claim has also been shared by alleged Russian disinformation site Pravda.fr and on TikTok.

We found additional TikTok posts using Logically® Accelerate, a tool that enables proactive discovery of fact-check-worthy content on platforms.

On the evening of October 1, Iran launched approximately 180 missiles toward Israel. According to the BBC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that the attack was in response to Israel killing top commanders and leaders of militias backed by Iran, including former Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah, IRGC Commander Abbas Nilforoshan and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in July. 

However, the video does not show Netanyahu fleeing the impact of Iranian missiles. It is three years old and shows Netanyahu running to a vote in Knesset in 2021. 

In fact

A Google search in Hebrew for words associated with the video led us to a longer version posted on Facebook on December 13, 2021. The video featured a description in Hebrew, which translates to the following using Google Translate: "Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seen running for votes in the Knesset." The video on Facebook shows Netanyahu running in the same clothes with the same people on the exact same route as the viral video. 

Using reverse image searches of the first keyframe in the video from Facebook, we found that Netanyahu himself had posted the same video on Twitter and TikTok on December 13, 2021, but with the song "Eye of the Tiger" in the background. The TikTok video and the Twitter post featured a description in Hebrew that translates to the following using Google Translate: "I am always proud to run for you. It was taken half an hour ago in the Knesset." 

We also found several Israeli news articles about the video, including coverage in Israel National News and Hidabroot. Both described how Netanyahu was heading to a vote in the Knesset, Israel's parliamentary building. 

Verdict

The video does not show Netanyahu fleeing to a bunker to take shelter from Iranian missile launches on October 1 but shows him running to a vote in the Knesset in 2021. As a result, we have marked this claim as false.