Footage of people taking cover at a petrol station in Israel is not from Iran’s attack

A clip showing people running for cover at a petrol station has been shared online with false claims it shows scenes from Israel during Iran’s recent attack on 13 April. But the footage in question predates these events.

In the video, people at a petrol station can be seen running and ducking for cover as explosions are heard in the background and bright lights appear in the sky. The lights in the sky look very similar to other clips of missiles being intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome.   

The video of people at the petrol station has recently been shared widely online with captions like: “Video circulating of the arrival of the first batch of Iranian drones to Israel”. One post shared on 14 April says: “LIVE from Israel: sirens are going off throughout the country as Iranian attack drones and missiles are intercepted.”

But the footage does not show recent events—it appeared in a report from Saudi news agency, Al Hadath, on 5 July 2023 about a separate incident in Israel. The caption reported (translated by Google): “Scenes of the Israeli Iron Dome intercepting missiles over the settlement of Sderot”, a city in Israel near Gaza. The petrol station seen in the clip is located on the outskirts of the city.

The Israeli military reported that it had intercepted five rockets fired from Gaza on 5 July 2023. Shrapnel from one of the interceptor missiles reportedly damaged a house in Sderot. This followed an Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. 

We often see miscaptioned images and videos that don’t show what they claim to in the wake of significant global events like this. For tips on how to verify video content before you share it, read our guide.