The video shows fireworks in Algeria, not Iran's attack on Israel

The post was circulated a day after Iran launched an attack on Israel on October 1, 2024, firing a barrage of missiles into the country. This was the latest escalation amid weeks of rising violence and tensions in the region.

Tehran said the attack – which came as Israel said it was launching a ground offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon – was in response to killings of Iranian-backed militant leaders (archived link).

It was the second time Iran has directly attacked Israel, following a missile and drone attack in April in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

However, the video circulating online predates the conflict and was not recorded in Israel.

It was shared in a similar incorrect context on Facebook and TikTok, as well as here, here and here in English.

Algeria celebration

Through reverse image and keyword searches on Google, AFP found several videos similar to the clip (archived links here and here).

Text alongside a video says it shows soccer fans setting off fireworks and flares in Algeria's capital, Algiers, after CR Belouizdad won the 2020 national soccer championship (archived links here and here).

AFP geolocated the video by identifying clues in the footage, including a grassy roundabout called Place Al Mokrani and a billboard with illuminated edges on the side of a high-rise building.

Below is a screenshot comparison of Place Al Mokrani from the fake post (left) and from Google Maps (right) with elements highlighted by AFP:

Below is another screenshot comparison of a billboard on a building in the video (left) and the same location on Google Maps (right), with elements highlighted by AFP:

In 2023, AFP debunked posts sharing the same video shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, sparked by the Iranian-backed Palestinian group's October 7 attack.

The Hamas attack killed 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians. This is according to an AFP tally, which is based on official Israeli figures and also includes hostages killed in captivity.

Of the 251 hostages seized from militants, 97 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 who the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 41,825 people, most of them civilians, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled area. The United Nations describes the numbers as reliable.

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Middle East conflict here and here.