2022 video from Romania shared as U.S. soldiers arriving in Israel amid war with Hamas

What is the claim?

A video of armed personnel disembarking from an aircraft has been shared online with the claim that the U.S. army has arrived in Israel and that this is an ‘alert’ for World War III. The video is circulating on X and Facebook, and an archive of such posts can be found here and here. Some of such posts had garnered tens of thousands of views at the time of publishing. 

However, the video is old and not from Israel.

Screenshot of the viral video circulating online. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video is old and not from Israel.

What did we find?

Through a reverse image search, we found that the video dates back to June 2022. The same video was available on the YouTube channel ‘Defense Now,’ where it was posted on June 28, 2022. The video was titled: “101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Soldiers arrive in Mihail Kogainiceani, Romania, June 28, 2022.” The serial number mentioned on the aircraft and the number of persons disembarking the flight matched the viral video. The American Army's division dedicated to air assault missions is called the 101st Division. They also go by "Screaming Eagles", according to the U.S. Army website.

Comparison of viral video and Defense Now YouTube video. (Source:YouTube/X/Screenshots)

Additionally, the YouTube channel ‘The Romania,’ a conservative media channel from Romania, also published the same visuals on June 29, 2022. This description stated that soldiers from the Third Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the Headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division will be replaced by 101st Division soldiers deployed in Europe.

According to the United States Army website, the 101st Airborne Division unit arrived in Romania on June 28, 2022. The 101st Airborne Division was deployed to assist the U.S. Army V Corps in its mission to bolster NATO's eastern part of the alliance over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It would participate in multinational exercises with alliances throughout Europe to thwart more Russian aggression, the website added. 

All this evidence confirms the video is from Romania, and not from Israel.

U.S. on Israel-Hamas war

According to a U.S. Department of Defense press release dated October 26, since the start of the conflict, the U.S. has been supporting Israel in its war against Hamas. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder stated that the U.S. intends to provide Israel with humanitarian aid and two American Iron Dome systems to strengthen air defense capabilities and protect Israelis from rocket assaults. Ryder added that 900 troops will be deployed in the Middle East, but not in Israel.

The verdict

A video from 2018 of U.S. Army unit arriving in Romania after the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been shared with the false claim that  U.S. Army troops have landed in Israel. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.