Old, unrelated images shared as Yemeni soldiers entering Syria

What is the claim?

A video containing a collection of images of military vehicles and soldiers has been shared online with the claim that it shows Yemeni "fighters" arriving in Syria "preparing to enter Gaza on behalf of the Palestinians" amid the Israel-Hamas war. A voiceover can be heard saying that "healthy fighters from Yemen have arrived in Syria." The voiceover quotes sources to state that "these forces entered Syria via Iraq and Jordan with the intention of preparing for ground operations against Israel," and that "sources from Russian and Hebrew media have confirmed the movement of these fighters stating that they are planning to use drones and other military tactics to confront Israeli forces."

A user on Threads shared this video with the caption: "Remember when we saw Yemeni troops leave Yemen and marching towards Gaza. They have just arrived in Syria and are preparing to enter Gaza on behalf of the Palestinians. More of this please." The same claim was shared on X (formerly Twitter). The archive can be found here and here.

The claim has surfaced after Yemen recently fired a ballistic missile, hitting central Israel, amid the renewed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Screenshot of the claim circulating online (Source:X/Threads/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the images are not connected to the ongoing Israel and Hezbollah conflict.

What are the facts?

The viral video contains five images, and our research showed all predate the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Image 1

The first image shows military vehicles lined up, with soldiers marching alongside. We found the original image to be published on Getty images (archived here). The photo was captioned, "Yemen's Houthi group held a military parade, commemorating the 9th anniversary of their takeover of the capital Sana'a, on September 21, 2023, in Sana'a, Yemen. A military parade was held to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the group's control of Yemen's capital Sana'a, with a marching of thousands of uniformed fighters, armored cars, naval vessels, ballistic missiles, drones, and jets." Getty Images credited the image to Mohammed Hamoud.

Comparison of the original photo from 2023 and the image used in viral video (Source: GettyImages/Threads)

Image 2

The second image shows military personnel lined up on two sides of a road, as military vehicles pass through the middle.

Upon reverse image search, we found that the photo is from 2022. This image shows the display of their latest weapons in a military parade. In a news report published on Al Mayadeen, with a headline, "Yemeni army displays latest strategic weapons in military parade" on September 22, 2022, this is one of the many images that are published. The report added that the military parade was held on the occasion of the September 21 Revolution anniversary. A Taghrib News Agency report also published the photo with a similar caption.

Image 3

This image shows a group of soldiers holding Yemen flags, travelling in multiple vehicles with Toyota written on them. Our search led us to Getty Images, (archived here) where the image is captioned: "Yemeni army reinforcements arrive to join fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government, on the southern front of Marib, the last remaining government stronghold in northern Yemen, on November 16, 2021. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said yesterday it has killed over 130 Huthi rebels in the past 24 hours in strikes in and near the northern pro-government bastion of Marib.

Image 4

This image shows a group of people standing and displaying the weapons. Through our search, we found that this image is old and available in the internet since 2016.

In the Getty Images, (archived here) this image was captioned as "TOPSHOT - Armed tribesmen, loyal to the Shiite Huthi rebels, brandish their weapons at a gathering in the capital Sanaa to mobilize more fighters to battlefronts to fight pro-government forces in several Yemeni cities, on June 20, 2016. The Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and went on to seize control of several regions, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.” Photo was attributed to AFP photographer Mohammed Huwais.

Further, several other news organisations like France 24, BBC News have also used this image in its report. 

                     Comparison of Original image from 2016 and the image from viral video (Source:Gettyimages/Threads)

Image 5

The image shows a group of people holding weapons and the Yemeni flag. We found that it was taken in March 2024 by Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency in Turkey. 

Turkiye Today published this photo in June 2024 in one of their reports with a headline, "Houthi rebels, Iraqi militia target ships in Israeli port and Mediterranean Sea" and added this image and credited it to Anadolu Agency. The photo here is captioned, “Houthi rebels report fresh U.S., U.K. airstrike on Al Hudaydah, Yemen, March 15, 2024. (AA Photo)." Upon further search, we have also found that this image from the Anadolu Agency’s website (archive here) as well.

Comparison of original photo from March 2024 and the image from the viral video (Source: AA/Threads)

Yemen’s stand in the Israel-Hamas war

Yemen expressed support for Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. On September 15, a ballistic missile fired by Yemen hit central Israel, and was considered a "'way' of showing solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu responded that Israel 'would inflict a heavy price on the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control northern Yemen," a Reuters report added.

We looked for media reports on Yemen troops entering Syria in support of Gaza. However, we did not find any credible media reports. If Yemen send any of their soldiers officially to Gaza, then it would have made international headlines.  Neither Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates nor Syrian government release a statement or report regarding Yemen moving towards Syria.

The verdict

Old images of Yemen soldiers and Houthi rebels from different events have been misrepresented to claim that Yemeni soldiers were entering Syria to support Palestine.