Old Tel Aviv clip falsely linked to Middle East war
- Published on March 4, 2026 at 05:24
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
The war engulfing the Middle East has sparked a flurry of misrepresented visuals online, including a clip falsely claimed to show panic in Tel Aviv following an Iranian strike. The circulating video is old and dates back to news reports from April 2025 about a commotion caused by a "mistaken terror attack".
"Jews in Israel are running out of places to hide. They're fleeing like rats. Iran has wiped out several countries at once," reads a Hindi-language Facebook post shared March 2, 2026.
It includes a video showing a huge crowd scrambling in a public square.
The same footage also spread on Instagram as conflict exploded across the Middle East following a joint US-Israel attack on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (archived link).
Tehran retaliated by striking Israel and expanding a missile and drone barrage across the region.
In Israel, an Iranian missile attack killed at least nine people and injured dozens more in the central city of Beit Shemesh on March 1, after a death the previous day near Tel Aviv (archived link).
Three people were also injured on one of the main roads of Jerusalem.
The regional war also took a growing toll on Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the armed Shiite Muslim movement that long had Tehran as a benefactor, launched drones and rockets at Israel in retaliation for Khamenei's slaying.
However, the video is unrelated to the latest round of conflict.
A reverse image search using keyframes led to an Instagram post from Israeli news channel ILTV on April 30, 2025 (archived link).
"What began as a police arrest at Habima Square was mistaken for a terror attack, sending crowds fleeing in panic," reads the caption, referring to a major public space in Tel Aviv.
It added 21 people were treated for shock and minor injuries.
"No shots were fired -- the incident was criminal, not terror-related."
A Google keyword search found news reports on the incident which took place during a 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, which crowds mistook for an unfolding security incident (archived link).
AFP has debunked more misinformation related to the Middle East war.
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
