Video doesn’t show Israel attacking a scientific research center in Syria

What is the claim?

A video of a building on fire with plumes of smoke emerging has been shared online with the claim that it shows Israeli strikes on a scientific research center in Masyaf, Syria. 

A post (archived here) on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video with the caption, "One of the zionist strikes on Syria targeted the Scientific Research Center in Masyaf." The post had 740 likes and 298 retweets. Archives of similar posts are here and here.

The claim emerged after Israel struck multiple military sites in Syria over the past few days. It has also been reported that the scientific research center was among the targeted sites.  

Screenshot of the viral video shared online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically facts)

However, the claim is misleading; the video shows an Israeli missile strike in southern Lebanon. 

Here are the facts

Through reverse image search, we found the same video on Al Araby TV's X account (archived here), published on August 9, 2024. The caption reads: "Five wounded in Israeli raid on Hanawiya town in Tyre district, southern #Lebanon. (Translated from Arabic)." The viral video starts at the timestamp of 0:15 seconds. This video was also shared by the Mossad Commentary's X account (archived here) on August 9, 2024.

Anadolu Agency reports that Israel launched an airstrike on a house in the town of Hanawiya in Tyre district in southern Lebanon on August 8, 2024. Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia group, has voiced support for Hamas in Palestine since the October 7 attacks and has been shelling areas in Israel since October 2023. 

Lebanon Ministry of Public Health (archived here) also reported that five people sustained injuries in the August 8 attack by Israel. The above evidence shows that the video has been online before the attack on Syrian sites and is not linked to the recent airstrike by Israel.

The verdict

A month-old video of Israel attacking south Lebanon is being misrepresented as Israel attacking Syria.