Does a video of an explosion in an urban area with clouds of smoke and large pieces of debris hurled skyward show the Israeli Air Force striking terror targets in Gaza in October 2023? No, that's not true: The footage is from a May 2023 airstrike in the Gaza strip. It is not a video of airstrikes hitting Gaza as retaliation after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on October 7, 2023. It opened with a caption on the video that read:
BREAKING:
Israeli Air Force is striking terror targets in Gaza.
Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorism. I call on the international community to take a stand. #Isreal #Palestine #reelsfb #fypã‚·ã‚šviralã‚· #myvlogvideo2023 #myfirstvlog2023 #reelsvideo #trendingreels #foryoupage #public
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Oct 10 18:46:31 2023 UTC)
The footage is from a May 13, 2023, air strike conducted by Israel in northern Gaza and was published by The Associated Press on their verified YouTube account (archived here). The caption says it is from Beit Lahiya, Northern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2023, "Smoke and sand rising from explosion after Israeli airstrike targeted house in northern Gaza Strip."
The footage posted on Facebook matches the explosions shown on the AP video, with large smoky plumes billowing up from the buildings as screenshots show:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Oct 10 18:50:12 2023 UTC)
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Tue Oct 10 18:52:34 2023 UTC)
Other Lead Stories articles on claims pertaining to the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict are here.
