Video shows Israeli airstrike in Gaza in May 2021, not current war | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·3 min read
23

The claim: Video shows Israeli airstrike destroying Gaza tower in October

An Oct. 7 video (direct link, archive link) on X, formerly Twitter, shows a tall building collapsing to the ground following multiple explosions.

"Moment Israel launched Operation Iron Swords," reads the video's caption. "Israel destroyed third Gaza tower eliminated (sic) Palestinian Terrorists."

The video was reposted more than 100 times and shared more than 20 times on Facebook in six days, according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool.

Fact check roundup: Israel-Hamas war sparks many misleading claims online. Here's what's true and false.

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Our rating: False

The video is miscaptioned. It shows an Israeli airstrike that destroyed a building in Gaza in May 2021.

Video shows Israeli airstrike during 2021 conflict

Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, launched a deadly surprise attack against Israel on the morning of Oct. 7. Israel responded with what is being called Operation "Swords of Iron," with devastating airstrikes against Gaza, which is home to about 2.3 million people. At least 4,000 people have died on both sides as of Oct. 16, with thousands more wounded.

The X video, though, doesn't show a recent Israeli airstrike. The same video was posted on X by Al Jazeera on May 13, 2021, with a caption that reads, "This is the moment the 14-story al-Shorouq tower, housing media offices in Gaza City, was completely destroyed by multiple Israeli air raids on Wednesday."

Other videos posted online around that time show the same building being destroyed.

A video from CNN shows the building crumbling to the ground and includes a caption that reads, "This is the third high-rise building to be destroyed by the (Israel Defense Forces) since the escalation of the violence began on May 10, 2021."

Fact check: Old Israel rocket attack video miscaptioned; predates current Hamas conflict

ABC News also shared a similar video in an X post on May 13, 2021, saying it "shows the moment an Israeli airstrike hit and leveled the 14-story Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza amid an escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas."

The fighting broke out when Hamas militants in Gaza fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem on May 10, 2021, the Associated Press reported. The conflict followed days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

A cease-fire agreement eventually brought the 11-day war to an end, but not before more than 200 people were killed in the fighting.

The social media user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows Israeli airstrike in Gaza in May 2021 | Fact check