Old video from 2018 passed off as visual of recent Israeli attack on Lebanon

By: Rahul Adhikari
April 22 2024

Share Article:

Social media posts claim to show recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

A video comprising three distinct clips is circulating on social media, purporting to show recent Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon. A TikTok user posted the video on February 26, captioning it, "Lebanon today, oh my God, Israel responds strongly."

The video has amassed over 10 million views and 328,000 likes. Although the video has been removed, an archived version of the viral video can be viewed here. Archived versions of similar posts can be accessed here and here.

Screenshots of the viral video. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation reveals that the claim is misleading. While the second and third clips from the viral video originate from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, the first clip, dating back to 2018, is from Afghanistan.

How did we find the truth? 

We conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes of the three clips in the viral video separately. The search results indicate that the first clip is from Afghanistan, while the other two clips depict Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Old clip from Afghanistan

This 30-second clip captures an airstrike obliterating a house atop a hill. A bomb descends from the sky, detonating upon impact with the building, resulting in a massive cloud of smoke.

Screenshot of the first clip of the viral video. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

A reverse image search traced the video back to February 2018, showing a significant airstrike in Afghanistan during a commando offensive in the Mohmand Valley, Nangarhar province. Army Times reported the video’s release on February 8, 2018, identifying the building as an “ISIS-K fighting position” and suggesting the video was captured on February 4, 2018.

Marine Times corroborated this, stating the video depicts an airstrike annihilating an ISIS-K fighting position during Afghan Commando operations in Mohmand Valley, Nangarhar province, on February 4, 2018.

The United States Department of Defense published a photo of the same incident on February 20, 2018, detailing two coalition airstrikes that eliminated ISIS fighters and facilities in Nangarhar and Jowzjan provinces in Afghanistan in early February.

The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, a unit of the United States Air Force active in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021, shared the video on Facebook on February 15, 2018. The post described the video as showing an F-16 Viper destroying an ISIS-K fighting position during Afghan Commando operations in Mohmand Valley, Nangarhar province.

Clips of Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Our findings indicate that the second and third clips depict Israeli attacks on Lebanon, part of the recent Israel-Lebanon conflict that erupted after Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant organization, attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, following a large-scale Hamas assault on the previous day.

The second clip from the viral video displays large plumes of smoke ascending into the sky. Captured from a road, the laterally inverted clip shows people fleeing a supermarket and cars parked on the streets. A bridge is also visible in the footage.

Screenshot of the second clip of the viral video. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

In the video, ‘Al Bekai Supermarket’ is discernible. Google Maps locates this supermarket in Sidon, southern Lebanon. We contacted Fatabyyano, a Jordan-based fact-checking organization, which confirmed the video’s location in the Ghazieh area near Sidon. The bridge featured in the video is the Sanic Bridge, situated adjacent to Al Bekai Supermarket.

Additionally, we located an image on Google Maps showing the supermarket’s rear, captured from the bridge.

Multiple reverse image searches on the clip’s keyframes led us to two TikTok users who shared the video. The earliest post with the original footage dates back to February 20, 2024, from an account named 911rare. Another user posted the clip on February 22, 2024, suggesting the incident likely occurred shortly before February 20.

According to Reuters, at least two airstrikes struck near the coastal Lebanese town of Ghaziyeh on February 19, 2024. Lebanese officials reported that the strikes targeted factories and warehouses in an industrial zone south of Sidon, although the exact targets remain unclear. BBC coverage indicated the airstrikes hit a warehouse producing tires and generators near a stone marble (tiles) factory. Fatabyyano pinpointed a location near the Sanic bridge, presumed to be the marble factory, as excavators and trucks are visible on Google Maps.

The evidence suggests that the viral clip likely captures the Israeli attack on February 19. Moreover, reports suggest the attack targeted a factory, a location we identified on Google Maps.

The third and final clip shows a vast plume of smoke rising from an area with large buildings.

Screenshot of the second clip of the third video. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

A reverse image search led us to a Middle East Monitor Instagram post dated December 7, 2023. The caption describes Israeli forces launching multiple airstrikes on Kounin, a village in southern Lebanon, amid escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. The Instagram video includes two clips, the latter being the one in question.

Al Jazeera journalist Ali Hashem also shared the video on December 7, 2023, echoing the same information. He commented, “The intense Israeli airstrikes on the south are underreported, with more focus on Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli positions. This aspect should receive more attention.”

Therefore, a video from a December incident has been misleadingly presented as an Israeli attack on Lebanon in February.

The Israel-Lebanon conflict

The Israel-Lebanon conflict is a decades-long complex dispute. The situation escalated after Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant organization, launched an attack on Israel on October 8, 2023, just a day after Hamas militants launched a devastating attack on the latter on October 7, 2023. 

Since then, there have been multiple reports of attacks from both sides on multiple occasions. Al Jazeera reported that Israel, Hezbollah, and other armed groups in Lebanon exchanged at least 4,733 attacks across the border from October 7, 2023, to March 15, 2024.

The verdict

The claim that the video showcases Israeli attacks on Lebanon in February is partially incorrect. While the second and third clips from the viral video stem from the recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict, depicting Israeli attacks on Lebanon in December 2023 and February 2024, respectively, the first clip originates from Afghanistan in 2018. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.