Does the viral video show the escalating Iran- Israel conflict?

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Currently, the entire world is focused on the conflict between Iran and Israel. Both contries do not show any signs of backing down and are launching attacks on each other. Amid the ongoing loss of lives and property due to attacks, many images purporting to be footages of the Iran- Israel war and circulating on social media. Here is a fact check we did regarding one of those videos. 

Social Media Posts:

This video, posted with the caption “Power”, is a series of scenes of a large explosion occuring in the same location and has been created using several videos taken by several people. The footage shows a large explosion with fire and the sorrounding area being covered in a cloud of smoke.

Furthermore, this video was posted with the hashtag #iranattackonisrael, suggesting that this is actually a video related to the Iran-Israel conflict that erupted a few days ago. 

Facebook 

Furthermore, it can be seen that the social media user who released this video on social media has posted this video clip with the aim of drawing attention to his Facebook page. 

We did a fact check regarding this video.

Fact Check:

We investigated whether this video, which purported to be a footage of an explosion during the Iran- Israel war, is actually a footage of an explosion during an attack by Iran on Israel.

First, we cheked whether footages of such an explosion had been published in the mainstream media, both local and foreign. However, though almost all the content of the Iran- Israel war are covered by mainstream meia, no media outlet has aired such a series of videos.

Accordingly, to further investigate regarding this video, we use a Reverse Image Search, which showed that this video was a sequence of a footage of a large explotion that occured after a fire broke out near the port in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on August 4th, 2020.

More videos related to the explosion near the port in the capital Beirut can be found here and here. 

Furthermore, here and here are how many other websites reported on the emplosion in Lebanon.

Explosion near Beirut port in Lebanon 

75 people were killed and many more injured due to the massive explosion that occured on August 4, 2020, near the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Around 4,000 people were injured and a lot of property were destroyed. 

According to Lebanese authorities, media outlets reported that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored for years in a warehouse near the port, had exploded. A fire had initially started in a fireworks warehouse in the port of Beirut and then it has spread through nearby buildings to a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate.

Iran- Israel conflict

The Iran-Israeli conflict, which began a few days ago, continues to escalate. As per Israeli authorities, foreign media reported that eight people have been killed and many more injured in overnight attacks by Iran across central Israel. Israel began attacking Iran on Friday the 13th, targeting nuclear facilities, military bases, and populated areas. Meanwhile, Iran also retaliated against Israel with drone and ballistic missile attacks. Meanwhile, many Sri Lankans are employed in Israel, especially in the midst of war.

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Conclusion:

Accordingly, our investigation shows that, the circulated video captioned as Power, and purporting to be an explosion due to Iran- Israel war, is misleading. The video is actually a footage of the explosion that took place on August 4th, 2020, near the port of Beirut city of Lebanon.