Video predates September strikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port | Fact check
The claim: Video shows Israeli strikes in Yemen in September 2024
A Sept. 29 Threads post (direct link, archive link) includes a video showing fire and a thick column of black smoke rising in the distance over an urban area.
"BREAKING: The Israeli Air Force is striking the Houthi terrorist controlled Hodeida Port in Yemen," the post's caption reads. "The Houthis have continuously fired missiles and drones at Israel and Israel will continue to defend its citizens."
A similar Instagram post was liked more than 19,000 times before it was deleted.
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Our rating: False
The video is miscaptioned. It shows the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Yemen in July, not September.
Video predates September strikes on Yemen port
Israel carried out airstrikes Sept. 29 on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen, targeting the Iran-backed Houthis in retaliation for missile attacks by the militant group, Reuters and The New York Times reported. The strikes came as Israel continued its fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, raising fears of a wider war in the region.
But the 15-second clip in the Threads post does not show the aftermath of Israel's Sept. 29 airstrikes. Rather, it dates back to at least July.
The Turkish news organization Anadolu Agency included the same 15-second clip in a July 20 YouTube video titled, "Multiple casualties following Israeli airstrikes on oil storage facilities in Al Hudaydah, Yemen." Al Hudaydah is another name for Hodeidah. Israel did launch attacks in the region that day.
Fact check: An Israeli jet shooting down a Hezbollah drone? No, video is digital creation
The clip in the Threads post and the older YouTube video are shot from the same vantage point, show the same fire and smoke column and include the same camera movements.
The clip also circulated on X, formerly Twitter, in July.
Paste BN has debunked numerous claims involving Israel and its related conflicts, including false assertions that the U.S. reinstituted the draft for the Israel-Hamas war, that a video showed Israeli fighter aircraft downing a Hezbollah drone and that another video showed Iranian drones reaching Israeli airspace.
Paste BN reached out to the Threads user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
- Reuters, Sept. 29, Israel strikes Yemen port, keeps up Lebanon assault
- The New York Times, Sept. 29, Israel strikes the Houthis, an Iranian ally, in Yemen.
- Reuters, July 20, Israeli jets strike Houthi targets in Yemen in response to attacks, military says
- Anadolu English (YouTube), July 20, Multiple casualties following Israeli airstrikes on oil storage facilities in Al Hudaydah, Yemen
- @MiddleEastEye, July 20, X post
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