Old image passed off as people leaving Tel Aviv after recent strikes between Israel and Houthis

What's the claim?

An image showing a crowded terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, attributing the scene to a surge in passengers following alleged threats from Yemen, is being widely shared on social media.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the image (archived here). They wrote in Arabic (translated to English), "Urgent Ben Gurion Jaffa Tel Aviv Airport is crowded with passengers after Yemen threatened retaliation." The post was viewed more than 72,000 times as this story was written. Archived versions of other such X posts can be found here and here.

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

However, this is an old image from October 2023. 

What we found

Using a Google reverse image search, Logically Facts discovered the same image in a CNBC news report published on October 9, 2023. The caption indicated that the photo was taken in the departure section at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel, where people were waiting after many international flights were canceled due to the Hamas attacks in Tel Aviv on October 8, 2023. The image was attributed to Anadolu Agency.

During that time, several airlines suspended service to Israel after attacks by Hamas on Israel.

We located the original image on the Anadolu Agency (archived here), credited to Turgut Alp Boyraz, a News Editor at Anadolu Agency. The description stated, "People wait in the departure section at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's only international airport, after many international flights were canceled due to the attacks by Palestinian factions in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 8, 2023." Getty Images (archived here) also attributed the image to Turgut Alp Boyraz from Anadolu Agency.

Houthis attack on Tel Aviv

According to CNN, a drone attack on Tel Aviv took place on July 19, 2024, resulting in the death of one Israeli citizen. Several others were injured. The Yemeni Houthi group, also known as Ansar Allah, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was a response to Israeli actions in Gaza. Houthi military spokesman Yehya Saree said, "We will continue to strike these targets in response to the enemy's massacres and daily crimes against our brothers in the Gaza Strip." In what it said was retaliation for the drone attack by the Yemeni Houthis, Israel conducted airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen. 

The verdict

The image of the crowd at the airport in Tel Aviv in October 2023 amid the Hamas attack on Israel was misinterpreted as people leaving Tel Aviv over claims Yemen had announced retaliation against Israel.