No, video does not show explosion at Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv

What is the claim?

A short video circulating on social media shows an intense fire, seemingly caused by an explosion, in an area with tall buildings. 

The video is accompanied by a claim that the incident occurred at the Mossad Headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel. These claims have surfaced after Iran fired missiles at Israel following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a recent Israeli airstrike on Beirut.

One X (formerly Twitter) user shared this video and wrote, "Huge explosion in Tel Aviv at Mossad headquarters." 

As this story was written, the post had amassed more than 778,000 views and more than 16,000 likes. 

Archived versions of this and similar posts are here, here, and here.

Screenshots of similar claims posted on social media (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the video shows an explosion in the Chinese port city of Tianjin in 2015, not Israel.

What are the facts?

Using a reverse image search on keyframes of the viral video, we found a similar video uploaded by various news outlets in August 2015.

A report by The Guardian on August 15, 2015, headlined "Tianjin blasts: eyewitnesses capture explosions on film, then flee – video," indicates that the explosions occurred in an industrial area of the Chinese city of Tianjin. The Guardian credited the video to an individual, Dan Van Duren.

Screenshot of The Guardian's video article (Source: The Guardian/Dan Van Duren/Modified by Logically Facts)

BBC News also uploaded a similar video (archived here) on August 14, 2015, titled, "Tianjin explosion video captures fear of eyewitnesses." The description in the BBC video stated that an explosion occurred at a warehouse belonging to a company specializing in managing hazardous materials.

According to another report by The Guardian from September 2015, the Tianjin explosion occurred on August 12 at the Ruihai International Logistics warehouses, where hazardous materials, including 700 tonnes of highly toxic sodium cyanide, were stored in excess of authorized limits. The explosion resulted in the deaths of at least 173 people. 

Was there an explosion at Mossad's headquarters?

There are no credible reports about an explosion at the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv. However, several media outlets reported that Iranian missiles did land close by, causing a deep crater on the road. 

According to The Times of Israel, Hezbollah "launched 'Fadi-4' missiles at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, home to the IDF's Unit 8200 and Mossad headquarters." Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said, "There were a small number of hits in the center of Israel, and other hits in southern Israel."

Similar claims stating that Mossad headquarters had been destroyed went viral on social media but were debunked earlier by Logically Facts and can be read here.

The verdict

Social media users are sharing a video showing an explosion and claiming it to be from Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel. The video dates back to August 2015, originates from Tianjin, China, and is unrelated to the recent Iranian attack on Israel.