Military drill footage misrepresented as China airdropping aid into Gaza

"CHINESE cargo plane, with full protection escort, bringing food aid to 60,000 families in Gaza - entering through Egypt," reads an X post published May 17, 2025.

The post shares a video of a large military aircraft flanked by fighter jets as the squadron passes over the Giza pyramids.

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Screenshot taken May 23, 2025 of the false X post

The video circulated online as Palestinians scrambled for basic supplies after Israel imposed a near-total blockade on March 2.

Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18 after talks to prolong a ceasefire stalled. It briefly allowed nine trucks carrying basic aid into the besieged territory on May 19, but humanitarian groups have said the amount falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis (archived link).

The video purporting to show Chinese cargo planes delivering aid to Gaza spread widely on Facebook, X, and TikTok in Burmese and Chinese.

Although China delivered aid to Gaza through Egypt in March 2024, the footage shared online is unrelated (archived link).

The clip actually shows a joint military exercise between China and Egypt that ran from April to May 2025.

Reverse image and keyword searches on Google found a matching Instagram video published May 17 (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the false X post (L) and an Instagram post

The footage was uploaded by an account that posts various clips related to military drills and air shows.

"For the first time ever, Chinese and Egyptian fighter jets took to the skies in a powerful display of military cooperation during the joint exercise Eagles of Civilization 2025. Held in Egypt from April 19 to May 4, this landmark drill featured China’s cutting-edge J-10C jets, KJ-500 surveillance aircraft, and YU-20 refuelers in full force," the caption reads.

Subsequent keyword searches on Google found a Facebook post published May 17 by an account linked to Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) that details the joint exercise (archived link).

The post includes matching images of the squadron's flight over the Giza pyramids.

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Screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (L) and the photo shared by Egypt State Information Service, with similarities highlighted by AFP

SIS said on their website that the military exercise occurred in April and continued for several days (archived link).

China's Ministry of National Defense also released a statement about the conclusion of the joint exercise on May 8, sharing a video of its aircraft flying over the pyramids (archived link).