Old photo of rocket launch from Gaza linked to ongoing Hezbollah-Israel conflict

What's being claimed?

An image that shows missiles or rocket fire spots in the sky is being shared online, claiming that it shows the Lebanon militia Hezbollah firing rockets toward Israel amid the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Social media users have mocked Israel, saying the Iron Dome collapsed during the Hezbollah attack. Archives of such posts are here, here, and here.)

Screenshot of the viral image shared online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the image shows rockets fired by Hamas from Rafah, not from the Hezbollah rebel group.

Here are the facts

Through a reverse image search, we found the original image published by the press agency AFP (archived here) on May 12, 2021. The caption reads, "Rockets are launched towards Israel from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, early on May 12, 2021. Palestinian militants Hamas said on May 12 that they had fired more than 200 rockets into Israel, in retaliation for strikes on a tower block in the Israeli-blockaded enclave of Gaza, which they control." The image was attributed to Said Khatib, a photographer at AFP.

Screenshot of the AFP image. (Source: AFP News)

We found the same image on Getty Images (archived here). It also says the photo was taken on May 12, 2021. This image, too, was attributed to Said Khatib. CNN also cited the image and also reported that the rockets were fired on the morning of May 12.

The current Israel-Hezbollah conflict

On August 15, 2024, Hezbollah launched 25 rockets on northern Israel. Hezbollah said it was in retaliation to Israel's recent attack on August 14, 2024, where two Hezbollah operatives were killed in a drone strike launched by Israel.

The verdict

A 2021 image of a rocket launched by Hamas at Israel is being misinterpreted as Hezbollah's attack on Israel.