This image shows US fighter jets at a South Korean military base in 2012
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on May 25, 2021 at 05:15
- 2 min read
- By AFP Sri Lanka
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The image was posted here on Facebook on May 14, 2021.
The image’s Sinhala-language caption translates as: “The Israeli Air Force preparing to serve a ‘grand dinner’ for the Palestinians. What’s special about this is that the majority of the pilots are females."
“Grand dinner” is an idiomatic phrase in the Sinhala-language for “heavy thrashing”.
The image circulated online days after deadly fighting erupted on May 10, 2021 between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza. A ceasefire came into force on March 21, 2021, AFP reported.
Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed over 200 Palestinians, including 65 children. Rockets fired by Hamas and other Islamist armed groups in Gaza killed 12 people in Israel, including two children.
An identical image was also shared alongside a similar claim here, here and here on Facebook.
However, the claim is false.
A reverse image search on Google found the photograph in fact shows US fighter jets lining up for a demonstration at a South Korean military facility.
The US Air Force shared the same photograph here on its official Flickr account on December 14, 2012.
Its caption reads in part: “F-16 Fighting Falcons demonstrate an 'Elephant Walk' as they taxi down the flightline at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, Dec. 14, 2012. The Elephant Walk was a demonstration of U.S. and South Korean air force capabilities and strength.”
The same photograph was also shared with the correct caption here by the American news organisation Business Insider on February 2, 2021.
As of May 25, 2021, no credible reports indicate Israel had prepared an attack on Palestine using a squadron of aircraft with all-female pilots.
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