Old video from Syria shared as attack on Israeli military convoy
A video is circulating on Facebook claiming that Hezbollah forces have carried out a successful attack on an Israeli military convoy. However, a fact-check by Dismislab reveals that the scene depicts an old attack by Jaish al-Izza forces on Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the Hama region of Syria. According to a video published on the YouTube channel of the Syria-based media outlet Orient, the footage was recorded in 2016.
The video was posted from a personal Facebook profile on April 6. The caption read, “Successful hit by Hezus (a derogatory term for Hezbollah or related groups) in the right place on the Lebanon border….” Inside the 30-second video, it was written, “Hezbollah’s successful attack on Israeli military convoy….” Several individuals are seen standing together in one place. At the 9-second mark, a person is seen standing while aiming a “TOW” missile. At 17 seconds, multiple explosions are seen occurring in quick succession where the individuals were initially standing.
The video was shared with the same claim from multiple (1, 2) Facebook profiles.
To verify the truth, a reverse image search of the keyframes surfaced a video published on October 16, 2016, on the verified YouTube channel of the Syria-based media outlet Orient. The title of the video was: “Watch the scene of a group of Iranian militias killed in the Hama countryside by a TOW missile strike.” The detailed description stated: “The media office of ‘Jaish al-Izza’ has released a video clip showing a TOW missile being fired at a group of Iranian militias in the area adjacent to Maardes in the northern Hama countryside; it resulted in many casualties in their ranks.” The first 16 seconds and the segment from 27 to 41 seconds of the 53-second video are an exact match to the circulating video.
The video, published on the same day, was also found on the YouTube channel of Al-Marra Today. The title of this video was: “Watch.. dozens of (Iranian militia) casualties at the hands of Jaish al-Izza on the Maardes front in the Hama countryside by a TOW missile strike.” This video is also an exact match to the circulating video.
Previously, when this video circulated with false claims, the Saudi Arabia-based fact-checking organization Misbar published a verification report. That report, published in 2024, stated that the video shows a scene of an attack by Jaish al-Izza forces on Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the Hama region of Syria.
That is to say, the video circulated with the claim of an attack by Hezbollah forces on an Israeli military convoy is nearly ten years old and depicts a different incident.
In this context, several fake claims have spread on social media surrounding the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. Along with spreading photos and videos of old and different incidents as being from the recent conflict, content created with AI has also been circulated. Dismislab has published several fact-check reports regarding these matters.
