Viral video claiming missile strike on Israeli café actually shows old fire in Dubai
A video circulating on Facebook shows flames engulfing parts of the first and second floors of a building as people rush away in panic. Social media users are sharing it with the claim that a missile strike hit a café in Israel. A Dismislab fact-check finds this claim to be false. The footage is not from Israel; it shows a restaurant fire in Dubai on May 13, 2025, caused by a gas leak.
A personal Facebook profile posted the 14‑second clip on March 6. In the video, a building is seen burning as people run out from nearby structures toward safety. Screams and fire engine sirens can be heard in the background. The caption reads: “Many women were injured in a missile attack on a café in Israel.” As of this report, the video had been viewed more than 40,000 times, shared over 110 times, and drawn nearly 1,100 reactions. Several other Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3) posted the same video with the same claim.
After conducting a reverse image search of multiple key frames, Dismislab found a matching video posted on May 13, 2025, from a page run by Adil Rajput. The caption stated: “Last night, a fire broke out at the Al Barsha Pearl View Cafeteria in Dubai. Everyone affected is safe. The authorities took swift action and rescued all those trapped.” The same footage also appears on the user’s Instagram account. The 13‑second clip matches the viral video exactly.
Further keyword searches confirmed extensive coverage of the incident in Dubai-based media outlets (1, 2) and online news platforms (1, 2, 3). According to a report by The National, the fire occurred around midnight on May 13, 2025, at a restaurant named Pearl View near the Mall of the Emirates. A gas leak triggered the blaze, causing an explosion that engulfed the shop. No casualties were reported.
In short, the video being shared as a missile attack on a café in Israel is actually footage of a restaurant fire in Dubai last year. Similar cases of old, unrelated videos being repurposed as scenes from Israel have surfaced before, and Dismislab has previously fact‑checked multiple such claims.
