Unrelated clips shared as visuals from recent Hezbollah-Israel conflict

What is the claim?

Recent escalations between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah have caused a surge in social media visuals claiming to show the aftermath and the attack. One such video, created by stitching together two videos, claims to shows Hezbollah's attack on Israel and the state of the country. The first part features bright fireworks appearing like balls of fire in the sky, and in the second part, a large area seems to be on fire. Users shared the video on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube with captions reading, "Hezbollah turned Israel to Isra-Hell." Archives to the post are here, here, here, here, and here. 

Screenshot of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: Facebook/X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts) 

What are the facts?

Using a reverse image search, we found that both the clips are unrelated to the recent exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah. 

Clip 1: Fireworks in the sky

A reverse image search led us to a similar video taken from a different angle posted on YouTube (archived here) on August 9, 2024, captioned in Arabic: "Mouloudia Algiers supporters celebrate the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the dean." (Translated using Google Translate)

We matched the person in a green t-shirt, the road, the building, the clock on the pole, and the firecrackers in both the viral video and the YouTube video.

We also found the video (archived here) posted on YouTube on August 24, describing the 103rd anniversary of Algerian football club Mouloudia Club d'Alger (MCA), which was marked by a pyrotechnic show. 

       

El Bilad, a news website based in Algiers, also shared an image from the celebration and wrote that fans of the football club in Algiers celebrated the 103rd anniversary of the club's founding on August 8, 2024. They also reported that the capital's sky was lit up with fireworks. 

Clip 2: Fire in a large area

Through reverse image search, we found this video posted on the Instagram  (archived here) account of a local news portal on August 22, 2024. The post, written in Malay, said that it showed a fire at Sangkulirang Market Location of Desa Benua Baru. We matched the visuals between the 0:03 and 0:021 timestamps to the viral video. 

A video found on Instagram shows the fire. (Source:Kabar.kutim/Screenshot)

We also found a video posted by local news portal Bontang Post (archived here), on Facebook on August 22, which carried similar visuals. The report, also in Malay, said that a large fire hit Sangkulirang Market in Benua Baru Ilir Village, Sangkulirang District, East Kutai, Indonesia. 

Another online news portal in Indonesia, Detik, reported that the fire burnt about 350 stalls at the market. In addition, the fire also spread to the inns around the market. The cause of the fire was suspected to be an electrical short circuit. 

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict

A series of attacks have taken place between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah since September 17. A recent attack occured on September 23, with Israel attacking Lebanon, reportedly launching an intense barrage of airstrikes. CNN reported that Israel attack on the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon marked the deadliest day for the country since at least the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. 

The verdict

The viral video is unrelated to the ongoing Hezbollah-Israel conflict. Clips from an anniversary celebration of a football club in Algiers and a fire at a marketplace in Indonesia have been stitched together to portray it as an attack on Israel.