Video of Fire in Chinese Parking Lot Falsely Shared as Attack on Israel’s Mossad

දිනපතා සත්‍ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp චැනලයටමෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.

The Iran- Israeli war which is escalating day by day, is currently creating hot topics on social media. News reports claiming that Iran had attacked Mossad; the Israeli national intelligence agency, were widely circulated on social media. So, we did a fact check on the claim and video which stated that Mossad was burnt down after an attack by Iran.   

Social Media Posts :

The video was posted stating that “the headquarters of Irael’s intelligence service, Mossad is burning and being destroyed by Iranian attacks”. (ඊශ්‍රායලයේ මොසාඩ් රහස් ඔත්තු සේවා මූලස්ථානය ඉරාන ප්‍රහාර හමුවේ දැවී විනාශ වෙමින් පවතී… ) The footage shows a large fire spreading through a building with smoke and several people walking along a nearby road.   

Facebook 

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We also checked whether the mainstream media reported that the Mossad headquarters was attacked, as claimed by the video. However, it was observed that a series of videos similar to those circulating on social media were broadcasted on the night news on 17th, citing missile attacks near the Mossad headquarters in Irael.

Here is how it was broadcasted on NewsFirst.

Additionally, this video was also posted by the Facebook page of Hiru News. It was reported with the caption Irael- Iran conflict is escalating. A massive attack on Irael’s Mossad headquarters. (ඊශ්‍රායල – ඉරාන ගැටුම් උත්සන්න වෙයි. ඊශ්‍රායලයේ මොසාඩ් මූලස්ථානයට දැවැන්ත ප්‍රහාරයක්)

Meanwhile, the same footage was widely shared on social media accounts of users in foreign countries, claiming that the Mossad headquarters was burnt down.

X Link

Here and here are some other X accounts that posted videos claiming that the Mossad headquarters was on fire after the attacks.

Here and here are how it was posted on YouTube.

The video was also posted on Instagram.

Therefore, we did a fact check to check whether this footage actually depicts the Mossad headquaters burning after Iran’s missile attacks on Israel.

Fact Check :

We investigated whether this sequence of footage, which shows a large fire, was actually a video showing the Mossad headquaters burning after an attack.

International media reports

Accordingly, we first investigated whether major foreign media channels, which usually broadcast live, had reported such a series of scenes related to the Iran- Israel war. Some international media outlets had reported, citing Iranian sources, that an attack had been carried out on the Mossad Headquarters, but none broadcasted the above circulating video. 

NDTV News reported on reports that Iran had attacked the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv and the military intelligence complex in Gillot, Israel. NDTV further stated in its report that the Tasnim news agency had reported this, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, it also stated that it could not verify the videos circulating on social media in this regard. Furthermore, there is no mention of Israeli authorities admitting that the Mossad was attacked. More information here. 

Nevertheless, though other leading foreign media outlets has reported that missile attacks had been successfully launched on the main center of the Mossad intelligence agency,  none of those reports include the above footage, and there are no evidence that Israel admitted to such an attack. More information here and here.  

Local media reports

When we inquired about this video posted on the official Facebook page of Hiru News, they stated that the relevant footage had been posted on several verified accounts on X, stating as an attack on Mossad Headquarters, and so they reported it accordingly.

However, later on, this is how they have corrected that reported news.

Accordingly, the frames of the video was entered in to a Reverse Image search to determine whether these images, which was broadcasted by two of the country’s major media channels, actually showcase the Mossard headquarters burning.

A series of images from a fire that broke out in China a few days ago 

Accordingly, it became clear that this footage was not a footage of Israel’s Mossad headquarters burning due to Iranian missile attacks, but rather a footage of a fire that broke out in a motorcycle parking building in Chingqing, China on June 11th.

After one electric bicycle has caught on fire, it has spread to other bicycles as well, and it is reported that more than a hundred bicycles were burned. However, foreign media reported, citing the local fire department, that no lives were lost in the fire and that it was extinguished within 20 minutes. 

Here and here is how this was reported by several major foreign media outlets.

The latest situation of Iran- Israel war

Israel launched Operation Rising Lion against Iran on the 13th of last month. Since then, there has been a large-scale war between the two countries. Some local and foreign media outlets have reported that Iran has attacked Israel’s Mossad headquarters, but no media outlet has reported that Israel has admitted that its headquarters was attacked. While citing the IRGC, the Tasmin News Agency reported that a successdul missile attack was carried out on a key Mossad facility in Israel. They also posted a photo and reported that Iran launched a missile attack on Mossad despite being protected by a highly advanced air defense system. You can view the news here. 

Here and here are several other news reports.

Furthermore, in relation to the Israeli-Iranian conflict, US President Donald Trump has said that a real end to the Iranian nuclear program is needed. Furthermore, foreign media have reported that Donald Trump is considering joining Israeli attacks targeting Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. However, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that he will never show any mercy and is not ready to compromise with Israel. More information here. 

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Conclusion :

Our investigation shows that the circulated video stating that the Mossard headquarters was burnt down is not actually a footage of an attack on Mossard headquarters, but a footage of fire that broke out in a motorcycle parking building in Chongqing, China last week.