IN SHORT: Misinformation has been on the rise since conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated into full-blown war in October 2023. We found no truth to the claim that Russia has attacked Israel, as claimed in a video posted on Facebook.
Note: This report includes details about a breaking news story. Information was, as far as possible, correct at the time of publication but may change rapidly.
“Russia attack Israel” reads the text overlaid on a video circulating on Facebook.
The video, posted on 21 October 2023, shows several aircraft flying over what appears to be a city.
Russia has been at war with its eastern European neighbour Ukraine since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Israel is a country in the Middle East. Decades-old conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed group Hamas escalated on 7 October 2023 when Hamas launched an attack on Israel from Gaza, a narrow territory that lies mainly within Israel and has been controlled by Hamas since 2007.
The next day Israel responded with its own rocket strikes into Gaza and declared war on Hamas. Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned that the war could spread beyond the Middle East and called for a ceasefire.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has, however, accused Russia of being one of the countries financing Hamas’s attack on Israel.
The video has been viewed by close to a million Facebook users, and attracted over 2,500 comments.
It appears to be a copy of a video posted on TikTok by a user under the handle @fastupdate5. While the video is no longer visible on the profile, its profile picture shows someone flying the Palestinian flag and its description says “support Palestine”.
The same video has also been posted here on TikTok with the same text saying “Russia attack Israel”. It was also posted as a different claim, with text reading “US support in Israel”.
Some of the social media users commenting on the clip are not convinced it shows a Russian attack on Israel, saying the clip is from a “video game” and it is “fake news”.
But has Russia attacked Israel?
No news of Russia attack on Israel
It is highly unlikely that Russia could be at war with Ukraine and Israel at the same time. And if Russia did enter the war between Israel and Hamas, and attack Israel, it would be a major world geopolitical event that would be immediately and extensively covered in the global media. But there are no trustworthy sources reporting anything like it.
In November, a month into the Israel-Hamas war, Russia was intensifying its attack on Ukrainian power and heating infrastructure, with media reports suggesting Russia was taking advantage of the winter season. Russia only spoke out against the war in Gaza, but has not become involved in it.
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