Old image shared with false claim it shows Israeli helicopter being shot down

What's the claim?

Amid the Israel-Lebanon conflict, an image of a helicopter releasing flares against a hazy sky is circulating widely on social media with the claim that it shows an Israeli helicopter shot down over Lebanon recently.

A user on X shared the image (archived here), posting, "Breaking: An Israeli helicopter has just been shot down in the #Al-Khiyam area, southern Lebanon, while transporting several dead and wounded soldiers of the Zionist army." 

As this story was being written, the post had gathered more than 225,000 views and more than 12,000 likes. Another version of this claim on X is archived here.

The image has also been circulated on Facebook, accompanied by the same caption. Archived posts can be viewed here and here.

Screenshots of claims made online. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the image dates back to March 2019 and shows an Israeli helicopter shooting flares over the Gaza Strip.

What we found

Through a reverse image search, Logically Facts found that the now-viral image had appeared in an article by Arab News in March 2019. The article, titled "Gaza under fire: Israeli jets strike Hamas targets after Tel Aviv attack," included the image with the description, "An Israeli helicopter shoots flares over the Gaza Strip on March 25, 2019," and was credited to AFP.

We also located the image on the AFP Forum, where it was credited to photojournalist Mohammed Abed. The image description stated, "An Israeli helicopter shoots flares over the Gaza Strip on March 25, 2019." 

Screenshot of the image on AFP Forum. (Source: AFP)

We also came across a Reuters article dated March 26, 2019, which featured an image similar to the viral one. The caption under the Reuters image read, "An Israeli Apache helicopter releases flares as it flies over the Gaza Strip on March 25, 2019."

The verdict

The image is from March 25, 2019, showing an Israeli helicopter releasing flares over the Gaza Strip, not a recent incident related to the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.