Image shows WWII shelter tunnel in Poland, not a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv

By: Emmi Kivi
April 12 2024

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Source: X

Context

Tension between Israel and Iran has escalated after Iran accused the former of a deadly airstrike on its consulate building in Damascus, Syria. Since the attack on April 1, Iran vowed to retaliate, and both sides have issued threats against each other, raising concerns over a broader conflict in the Middle East.

Social media users shared an image showing opened doors leading to a light-up tunnel with the claim it shows bomb shelters in Tel Aviv, Israel. The photo was shared with captions like, “BREAKING: Israel has opened bomb shelters in Tel Aviv, fearing Iranian ballistic missile attacks.”

However, Logically Facts found that the image shows a WWII shelter tunnel in Poland, not a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv.

In fact

A reverse image search led to multiple results with a matching image leading us to Poland. These results included an article published by Polish online news outlet ONET, with the headline "This is how the Germans hid the trains. Shelter tunnel in Podkarpacie” (translated from Polish). The article describes WWII military underground structures in Strzyżów, South Poland. The shelter tunnel, part of the Fűhrerhauptquartier–Anlage Süd complex, was built as part of plans of the Third Reich to attack the USSR between 1940 and 1941. 

Left: the viral image. Right: the WWII shelter tunnel in Strzyżów, Poland, captured from onet.pl (Source: X/Onet.pl/Screenshots/Composite by Logically Facts)

The matching footage includes the caption, “Shelter tunnel for a staff train from World War II in Strzyżów” (translated from Polish). 

We found similar images on the Museum Strzyżów Facebook page showcasing the tunnel shelter, as well as on the Third Reich Ruins website. According to the latter, before the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the German military established command headquarters on the Eastern Front. The tunnel in Strzyżów was meant to protect Adolf Hitler’s command train and staff trains. 

Logically Facts has previously covered false and misleading claims related to the rising tension between Israel and Iran, including misattributed footage of Iran attacking Israel with ‘heavy missiles’ and 2017 image from North Korea was peddled as Iran preparing to attack Israel. 

The verdict

The footage shows a WWII shelter tunnel in Poland, not an opened bomb shelter in Tel Aviv amid fears of Iran’s retaliatory attack. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.