Old photos of Gaza shared as 'Israel attacking civilian homes' in Lebanon

What is the claim?

Two photographs that show an explosion in what appears to be a residential area are being shared with a claim that Israel is bombing civilian houses in Beirut, Lebanon. 

Dr. Eli David, an account which has shared misinformation in the past, shared one of the pictures on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "Israel Air Force is attacking Iran-affiliated banks and financial institutions in Beirut right now. Literally billions of dollars of Iran's money up in flames tonight." 

The post had amassed over 200,000 views and over 9,500 likes at the time of writing this fact-check. Archive version of the post can be seen here, and similar posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of social media posts carrying the viral photos claiming that they show recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the photos are old and were taken in Gaza. 

Photo 1

On conducting a reverse image search, we found that Reuters uploaded the same photo on its website under the 'Editors Choice Pictures' category on March 26, 2019. The photo is credited to Reuters photojournalist Mohammed Ajour with the caption, "Flame and smoke are seen during an Israeli air strike in Gaza City." 

We also found the same photo in one of the reports published by France 24 Arabic on March 25, 2019. It was credited to Reuters. The report explained that Israel retaliated with air strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket fire that fell north of Tel Aviv. Israeli authorities accused Hamas of the rocket launch. 

Screenshot of the original photo published by Reuters in 2019. (Source: Reuters/France 24 Arabic)

The attack in March 2019 included strikes on the office of the former Hamas leader, Ismail Haniya, in Gaza's Rimal district, injuring at least seven Palestinians. According to a report by TRT World, a Turkish broadcaster, the exchange of attacks took place at a time when hopes were raised about a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza-based resistance groups.

Photo 2

We found the second photo published on the Getty Images website and credited to AFP's Mahmud Hams. According to the caption, the photo was taken in Gaza on October 9, 2023. The photo caption read, "A fireball erupts from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. The death toll from the unprecedented assault by Palestinian militant group Hamas on its territory rose to 900 in Israel, which has retaliated with a withering barrage of strikes on Gaza, raising the death toll there to 687."

Screenshot of the original photo published by Getty Images in 2023. (Source: Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)

The same photo was also published by the South China Morning Post in a report credited to AFP. 

Israel has launched attacks across Lebanon, targeting Al-Qard al-Hasan, a financial institution linked to Hezbollah located in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Beirut. These attacks followed after a drone, reportedly originating from Lebanon, struck a building near the private residence of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier last week, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

The verdict

While Israel has been conducting attacks in parts of Beirut in Lebanon, the viral photos are not related to these recent attacks. Instead, the viral photos show Israeli attacks on Gaza on two different occasions earlier in 2019 and 2023.