2023 rocket strike shared as Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel

Context

On April 13, Iran launched its retaliatory attack of missiles and explosive drones at Israel in response to Israel's deadly strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1.

Amid the attack, a video showing a group of people seeking shelter by a gas station circulated online. The video was shared with captions such as, "Israelis panic as they watch their sky lit with Iranian rockets being intercepted” and “Iranian missiles have arrived in Israel, iron dome is overwhelmed by Iranian missiles."

However, Logically Facts found that the footage was captured in July 2023, and it is unrelated to Iran’s attack on Israel.

In fact

A reverse image search of some of the keyframes of the footage led us to a TikTok video posted on July 5, 2024, with visuals matching the viral video. Therefore, the footage predates Iran’s attack on Israel. The post caption identified in Hebrew that the footage was taken in Sderot, an Israeli city in southern Israel close to the Gaza Strip.

Left: The viral video. Right: The TikTok video, published on July 5, 2023. 
(Source: X/TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

With these added clues, a keyword search led us to a Times of Israel article headlined “Five rockets fired from Gaza at south, intercepted by Iron Dome — IDF" published on July 5, 2023. Accordingly, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) reported that five rockets were launched towards southern Israel. The rockets had triggered alarms in the city of Sderot and other nearby towns, but all were intercepted by Israel’s air defense, the Iron Dome.

Our investigation led us to an article published by Romanian news site G4 Media which includes an image with matching visuals to the viral footage. This article headline reads, “The moment when several people in Israel take cover at the sight of the rockets/The army announces that they were launched from the Gaza Strip and were intercepted completely, and in response Israel attacked by air" was published on July 5, 2023 (translated from Romanian).

Screenshot of the article from the G4Media website, published July 5, 2023 with a matching to the viral video.
(Source:G4Media)

Logically Facts was able to locate nearby landmarks on Google Maps shown in the viral footage, including the street sign to the Mall 7 shopping center and the nearby Tapuz gas station signs located in Sderot. 

Left: Google Maps photos of the Tapuz gas station with matching visuals from the viral footage
 shown on the right. (Source: Google Maps/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The Mall 7 sign is depicted in the top left image, behind the gas station. 

Left: A Google Maps image of the Mall 7 shopping center in Sderot. Right: The same sign in the viral footage. (Source: Google Maps/ X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Left: Views from the outside the stores from Mall 7 shopping center. Right: Similar visuals depicted
 in the viral footage (Source: Google Maps/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

According to the early reports, no Palestinian faction had claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The rockets were launched as the Israeli forces were withdrawing their troops from Jenin, West Bank, after conducting a two–day military operation in the area. In July 2023, Israel launched its reportedly largest military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin in over 20 years.

Logically Facts has covered multiple misleading and false claims about Iran’s attack on Israel; read the round-up here. 

The verdict

The video does not show Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13. The footage was captured in July 2023 and shows rocket strikes launched at Sredot, southern Israel. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.