Fact-Check: This Video Does NOT Show an Israeli Attack on Lebanon

This visual is from a fire at the Burj Hammoud landfill in Beirut, Lebanon.

Fact-Check: The video is from September and shows a fire at Beirut. 

(Source: The Quint) 

A video showing a massive fire went viral with the claim that the Israeli Air Force struck hundred launchers and destroyed about 1,00,000 shells in Lebanon. It added this was when Hezbollah was getting ready to attack Metula city in Israel.

This visual was shared by multiple news outlets such as ABP News, Republic TV and AsiaNet, as well.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is this true?: No, the claim is false.

• This visual shows scenes of a fire at the Burj Hammoud landfill in Beirut, Lebanon.

What we found: At first, we divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across a news report from 12 September by Elsiyasa stating that the video showed the scale of the disaster at the landfill in Burj Hammoud.

• They posted the viral video on their X (formerly Twitter) handle on 13 September.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

• Similarly, An-Nahar, an Arabic-language daily, published a story on 12 September about the fire. It noted that Civil Defense personnel, along with vehicles from various centers, quickly went to the location of the fire and are currently working hard to put it out.

• The Beirut Fire Brigade provided support for ongoing extinguishing operations, working closely with the landfill company to control the fire rapidly and minimise risks from burning waste. All concerned authorities were monitoring the situation.

Here is the link to the report.

(Source: An-Nahar/Screenshot)

• An Instagram account with the name "ThisIsLebanonNews," also uploaded the same clip on their account on 13 September and noted that it showed a fire at the landfill.

• The pager attack in Lebanon took place on 17 and 18 September, the reports listed in this story are from 12 and 13 September.

• We spoke to Riham Abu Aita, a Palestinian fact-checker who told us that the claim was false and the video showed the fire at the landfill in Beirut.

Conclusion: The viral video went viral with a false claim that it showed an Israeli attack on Lebanon.

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