Years-old image of Israeli airstrike on Gaza misrepresented as 2026 Iranian attack on Tel Aviv
- Published on March 4, 2026 at 08:56
- Updated on March 4, 2026 at 12:11
- 2 min read
- By Eyamin SAJID, AFP Bangladesh
Iran unleashed missiles and drones targeting Israel and Gulf countries in retaliation to US-Israeli strikes in February 2026, but a photo circulating online purportedly showing the Islamic republic's offensive against Israel is old. The image actually shows Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
"Iran's deadly attack on an Israeli high-rise building," reads Bengali-language overlaid text on an image shared in a Facebook post on February 28.
The picture shows a thick plume of smoke rising above buildings.
Iran launched a barrage of missile attacks on Tel Aviv following a joint US-Israel attack on the Islamic republic that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Februry 28 (archived link).
US President Donald Trump warned the war could extend longer than a month, as the conflict spread across the region with Israel bombarding Lebanon and Tehran targeting US allies in the Gulf, including drones hitting the US embassy in Saudi Arabia.
The US and Israeli attacks have killed 787 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, a toll that could not be independently confirmed by AFP (archived link).
In Israel, nine people died when a missile hit the town of Beit Shemesh.
The image spread with similar claims on Facebook.
But the photo predates the latest round of conflict by years and was taken in Gaza.
A reverse image search on Google found the picture published on October 7, 2023 by French media organisation France 24 (archived link).
"A plume of smoke rises above buildings in Gaza City on October 7, 2023 during an Israeli air strike," says its caption.
The photo was credited to AFP, whose caption says an Israeli air strike hit the Palestine Tower building (archived link).
Most of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by two years of war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 assault that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 Israelis.
Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has left at least 71,000 people dead, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, whose figures the United Nations considers reliable (archived link).
AFP has debunked other misinformation stemming from the Middle East conflict here.
Updated to add lines from caption of AFP photo in paragraph 15March 4, 2026 Updated to add lines from caption of AFP photo in paragraph 15
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