In mid-June 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on a range of targets in Iran, sparking a barrage of missile attacks from Iran into Israel. Amid the conflict, a video circulated online purportedly showing burning buildings in Tel Aviv, Israel, as a result of missile strikes from Iran.
Numerous X users shared the clip on June 16, claiming Tel Aviv was "burning" after being attacked by Iran.
(X user @vikingwarior20)
However, the footage does not show burning buildings in Tel Aviv as a result of Iran's airstrikes in June. The video appeared on YouTube as early as May 2025, prior to the conflict between Iran and Israel. Therefore, we determined that social media users miscaptioned the clip.
Google's reverse-image search tool produced no evidence of reputable news media outlets sharing the footage alongside the assertion that it showed Tel Aviv burning.
However, it did show that the same video was posted on YouTube (archived) on May 2, 2025, more than a month before the conflict between Iran and Israel began, which proved that it did not show Tel Aviv burning due to Iranian strikes on Israel in June. The caption read: "#beautiful #phalastine #gaza #gazaunderattack."
Different footage posted in mid-June by reputable news media outlets, such as Reuters and the BBC, does show buildings affected by Iranian missile strikes, which may have led some social media users to believe that the video circulating on social media also showed the aftermath of these impacts.
Due to the poor quality of the social media clip, it was not possible to determine when and where it was captured, who recorded it or what event it showed.
However, the uniform of the firefighters is similar to those worn in the West Bank and Israel.
(Screenshot via X)
Some firefighters in Gaza wear orange vests, though the uniform varies, and in some cases it looks similar to the uniform in the above screenshot.
The vertical strips on the back of the fireman's jacket in the footage circulating on social media, as well as the yellow helmet, are also similar to the features seen on the uniforms worn by firefighters in Jenin, a city in the West Bank, as seen in this 2024 Getty Images photograph.
Nonetheless, it was not possible to independently confirm the date or location of the video.
(Ayman Nobani/Xinhua/Getty Images)
According to news reports, Israel has hit major targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities and missile sites, and has killed senior military officers. As of this writing, around 24 people have reportedly been killed in Israel by Iranian strikes, while Israeli airstrikes have killed 224 people in Iran.
Snopes has also reported on inauthentic footage claiming to show Iran shooting down Israeli fighter jets and a fake photograph allegedly showing a downed Israeli F-35 fighter jet.