Video shows Dubai port fire, not South Asia conflict

"After India attacked 3 Pakistani military bases last night, this morning, 10 May, Pakistan attacked an air base in Gujarat, India," reads a Thai-language Facebook post on May 10, 2025.

"This video shows damage to the Indian Air Force base."

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on May 13, 2025

The eight-second clip -- showing an area damaged by a huge fire -- spread on Facebook hours before Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.

The nuclear-armed South Asian foes previously exchanged days of tit-for-tat jet fighter, drone, missile and artillery attacks that killed at least 60 people on both sides (archived link).

India's government has said Gujarat's Bhuj town where an air force station is located was among the areas that had been targeted (archived link).

Fighting was triggered when gunmen killed 26 people in a tourist town in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blames Islamabad for supporting the assault but Pakistan denies the charge.

A reverse image search using the video's keyframes found a high-quality version of the clip shared July 8, 2021 by an X user based in Dubai.

"Jebel Ali now, Dubai," reads the post referring to a port in the wealthy Middle Eastern city (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison between the false post (L) and the X post on July 8, 2021

News reports about the Dubai port fire from Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya also featured the clip (archived here and here).

The official X account of the Dubai's government's media office posted another clip showing the fire on the same day (archived link).

The blaze was caused by an explosion on a container ship preparing to dock at the Jebel Ali Port, AFP reported at the time citing local authorities. No casualties were reported (archived link).

AFP has debunked more misinformation on the India-Pakistan conflict here, here and here.