As Israel has launched airstrikes on Rafah, an image showing flares of fire in the sky is going viral on X (formerly Twitter). Users are fiercely sharing this image and associating it with the airstrikes carried out by Israel in Rafah.

An account with the username @stairwayto3dom, known for disseminating misinformation on X, has shared this image and wrote: “THIS IS TERRORISM ISRAEL IS BEGINNING THEIR GROUND INVASION ON RAFAH ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”

Moreover, the image has been shared by several users on X with similar claims.

Fact-Check

A reverse-image search of the viral image led us to some media reports from November 2023 featuring the same image with different news.

Reports from The Telegraph and The Week

According to the Telegraph’s report dated November 7, 2023, Israel’s military said on Sunday, November 5, 2023, that it had divided the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip in two as it pressed ahead with its ground offensive in the enclave as phone and internet services went down.

Additionally, the report stated: “Israeli media reported that troops were expected to enter Gaza City, in the enclave’s north, within 48 hours after completely encircling it. The new collapse in connectivity was reported by internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and confirmed by Palestinian telecom company Paltel, which blamed Israeli attacks for the blackout”.

Furthermore, another report by The Week cited similar facts of dividing the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip in two as said by Israel’s military.

Conclusion

DFRAC’s fact-check proves that the viral image has been shared misleadingly with the recent news of airstrikes in Rafah. The viral image is from November 2023.

Hence, the claim made by social media users is false.

Analysis: Misleading