Old video shared as Hezbollah targeting Israeli tank amid current war

What is the claim?

A video of a military tank moving through barren land and later exploding is being shared on social media, with claims that it shows Iran-backed Hezbollah's Radwan forces destroying an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Merkava battle tank. The claims have emerged amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, where the latter recently launched around 180 missiles at Israel on October 1, 2024.

One such post on X (formerly Twitter) featured the video with a caption in Arabic: "Urgent. The Radwan Force targets a Merkava tank with a Kornet guided missile on the Lebanese border." (Translated using Google) 

As of the time this fact-check was written, the post had garnered 1.2 million views and 15,000 likes and was reposted nearly 3,000 times. Archived versions of other similar posts on X can be viewed here, here, and here.  

Screenshot of viral posts circulating online. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video is old and unrelated to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. 

What did we find?

A reverse image search of the viral clip led us to a YouTube video (archived here) shared by British newspaper The Telegraph, on October 9, 2023, titled "Russian T-90 tank destroyed by Ukraine Anti-Tank Guided Missile near Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast." The video included the exact visuals as in the viral clip.

Screenshot of video shared by The Telegraph. (Source: YouTube/Screenshot)

The Ukraine Armed Forces' Strategic Communications Department also shared the video on its official Telegram channel (archived here) on October 8, 2023. The caption, written in Ukrainian, stated, "Russians lost their propagated T-90 "Breakthrough" tank near the village of Makiivka (Luhansk region, Ukraine).

Screenshot of a post shared by Ukraine Armed Forces' Strategic Communications Department.
(Source: Telegram/Screenshot)

A report by Kyiv Post also included a screenshot from the viral clip providing similar details that a Russian T-90M Proryv tank was destroyed by Ukraine's anti-tank missile. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and since then, both countries have been at war. 

Conflict between Israel and Iran 

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalated after several pagers and hand-held devices belonging to Hezbollah members in Lebanon exploded simultaneously, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries. Over the following days, both sides exchanged fire, and on September 28, Israel conducted an airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. In retaliation, on October 1, 2024, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched over 180 missiles toward Israeli territory.

The verdict

A year-old video of Ukrainian forces destroying a Russian military tank has now been shared with a false claim that it shows Hezbollah forces destroying IDF battle tanks.