Unrelated image shared as U.S. warships heading to Lebanon to 'support IDF'

What is the claim?

A photo (archived here) of an aerial view of ships in an open sea is being shared on social media with the claim that these are United States warships named Armada, that are heading to the Lebanon coast to assist Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in their ‘planned attack’ against the Lebanese armed militant group Hezbollah. The text on the image reads: “US warship armada races at top speed towards the coast of Lebanon in preparation for the IDF offensive attack planned against Hezbollah! US will use anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems to shoot down rockets launched against Israel!! (sic)”

The image was shared on Facebook with the caption, “Here we go!!… America rushes warships to the Middle East to protect Israel-hell. Netanyahu looks like he has succeeded in dragging the US in a war America did not want.”

The claim surfaced days after Israel’s military claimed that it killed Hezbollah’s military commander, Fuad Shukr, in an airstrike on Beruit on July 30, 2024, in retaliation to an attack on Israel, which it pinned the responsibility on Hezbollah. According to another report in Reuters, Hezbollah pledged to retaliate this killing. 

Screenshot of the social media post (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this photo does not show U.S. warships en route to Lebanon’s coast in support of Israel.

What did we find?

A reverse image search led us to a report dated June 24, 2024, published on the official website of the U.S. Navy, titled "BALTOPS 24 Concludes In Kiel, Germany.” The report also included the now-viral image. The report stated that 20 NATO allies participated in the 53rd iteration of the Baltic Operations 2024 (BALTOPS) held in Kiel, Germany, on June 20, 2024. The report explains that allies gathered at the port in Kiel to reflect on the 21-day BALTOPS exercise that involved 50 ships, 85 aircraft, and nearly 9,000 personnel. The BALTOPS exercise started on June 8, 2024, in Lithuania and involved exercises by warships of NATO countries in the Baltic Sea.

The same image was used in a report on the website of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), a project of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The photo, dated July 6, 2024, with the description “Ships participating in exercise Baltic Operations 2024 (BALTOPS 24) steam in formation through the Baltic Sea, June 8, 2024,” was credited to Mario Coto, a U.S. Navy employee. 

Screenshot of the image on the DVIDS website (Source: DVIDS)

NATO also posted this image on their official X (formerly Twitter) account (archived here) on June 10, 2024, with the caption, “19 Allies, 50+ ships, 85+ aircraft,  9,000 personnel are training together during the annual maritime exercise #BALTOPS24, where Allies will demonstrate NATO’s ability to preserve freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea."

Screenshot of the NATO’s X post (Source: X/NATO)

The verdict

An image of U.S. warships performing as part of BALTOPS in the Baltic Sea in June 2024 is shared with the false claim that they were en route to Lebanon’s coast to assist IDF in attacking Hezbollah.