Video of panic in Tel Aviv predates Iran-Israel war
- Published on July 16, 2025 at 10:39
- 2 min read
- By AFP Malaysia
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"Scenes of Israeli illegal immigrants running to shelters," reads a Malay-language Facebook post on June 14, 2025.
The video shows a large group of people gathered in a square rushing to disperse with rows of overturned plastic chairs seen in the middle of the crowd.
Text superimposed on the clip reads: "Colonizers running for shelter in Israel."
Screenshot of the false post taken July 9, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
The clip was shared elsewhere on Facebook with similar claims.
The video surfaced after Israel fired missiles at Iranian nuclear and military facilities on June 13, while Iran retaliated with a barrage of missiles targeting Tel Aviv (archived link).
US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a truce that came into effect on June 24, which remains in place (archived link).
Iranian officials said 1,060 people were killed in the country during the war, while Iran's attacks on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures (archived link).
But the circulating video was filmed in April, before the war.
A reverse image search led to an Instagram post by an Israeli news channel on April 30 which said the clip showed people in Tel Aviv panicking over a "mistaken terror attack" (archived link).
Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the Instagram post by ILTV Israel News posted on April 30
"What began as a police arrest at Habima Square was mistaken for a terror attack, sending crowds fleeing in panic. 21 people were treated at Ichilov Hospital for shock and minor injuries. No shots were fired -- the incident was criminal, not terror-related," reads the post.
A Google keyword search led to news reports on the incident which took place during Memorial Day event in Tel Aviv (archived link).
According to the Times of Israel newspaper, the chaos broke out after a man was arrested on suspicion of trying to attack the police, but those gathered in the square mistook the incident as an unfolding security incident and started fleeing (archived link).
AFP has debunked more misinformation related to the Iran-Israel conflict here.
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