New York fire clip misrepresented as Hezbollah attack on Israel
- Published on April 23, 2026 at 08:14
- 2 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
Sporadic violence has continued between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon despite a truce announced mid-April, but footage of a massive fire circulating online is unrelated. Social media posts falsely claimed the clip -- apparently censored by Israel -- showed an attack on the Israeli army headquarters a day before the ceasefire. The scene is from a blaze at an apartment building in New York City.
"Breaking news; Hezbollah targeted an Israeli military headquarters; many Israeli soldiers lost their lives at the scene. According to the report, many soldiers were trapped. Israel is censoring these images," reads a Facebook post shared on April 16, 2026.
The accompanying video, which has been viewed more than 240,000 times, shows a large fire engulfing a multi‑storey building, with firefighters seen working to bring the blaze under control.
Israel conducted huge strikes across Lebanon and invaded the south after militant group Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran on March 2 (archived link).
Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,450 people since the war broke out.
Hezbollah claimed drone and rocket attacks targeting Israeli troops in border areas in northern Israel.
Despite the truce which began on April 17, Israeli soldiers are still active in south Lebanon, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying they would use "full force" if threatened.
Hezbollah meanwhile said it was keeping its "finger on the trigger" in case of any Israeli violations (archived link).
The video of the burning building also surfaced on X and Instagram, but there have been no official reports about Israel's army headquarters burned after a strike.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip surfaced a higher-quality version posted on an Instagram account called "FDNY response video" on April 12, 2026 (archived link).
"Happening Now -- Major 3 Alarm fire on 22nd Street and 7th Avenue at 216 7th Avenue," says the caption.
AFP reached out to the owner of the account but a response was not forthcoming.
Further searches found corresponding images of the fire were posted on the official X account of the New York City Fire Department on April 13, 2026 (archived link).
There were no civilian injuries reported, although two firefighters sustained minor injuries, the post said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, it added.
Using the location mentioned in the posts, AFP was able to confirm the video was filmed in New York City by comparing visible structures with street imagery on Google Maps (archived link).
More of our reporting on misinformation triggered by the Middle East war can be found here.
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