What was claimed
A video shows explosions in Tel Aviv.
Our verdict
False. This video shows explosions that took place in Tianjin, China, in 2015.
Video shows 2015 explosions in China, not Tel Aviv
A video of explosions near a building has been shared on social media following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, with claims it shows the Israeli city Tel Aviv.
This is false.
The video is actually from August 2015, and shows explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin, China, that handled hazardous goods. It was filmed by an American man living nearby.
It does not show Tel Aviv, or an Iranian missile attack on the city as has been claimed by some.
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We previously saw this video miscaptioned and shared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Miscaptioned footage is a common form of misinformation we see online, especially during significant international stories such as the conflict in the Middle East. It’s important to consider whether what you’re seeing is genuine before sharing, and our guides to verifying images and videos can help with this.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because this video shows explosions that took place in Tianjin, China in 2015.