Fact Check: 2019 image of a helicopter falsely linked to recent attacks related Israel-Lebanon conflicts

Israel and Lebanon have been engaged in a prolonged conflict that began on October 7 last year after Hezbollah attacked Israeli-controlled territory in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza. This sparked a series of tit-for-tat border attacks between Israel and Lebanon. Amid this, on social media, an image of a Helicopter being shot down has gone viral. While sharing the image users claim that “Breaking: An Israeli helicopter has just been shot down in the #Al-Khiyam area, southern Lebanon, while transporting several dead and wounded soldiers of the Zionist army.”

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Fact Check

During the investigation, DFRAC found that the claim was false. We found multiple media reports carrying a similar image. According to ‘Arab News’ published on 26, March 2019 “GAZA: Israeli warplanes pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday after an apparent rocket attack near Tel Aviv. One Israeli strike targeted the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

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Furthermore, we also found a report from ‘Times of Israel’ published on 20, May 2019 stated “A Hamas cell tried to shoot down an Israeli military helicopter during the latest round of fighting in Gaza earlier this month, according to a report Monday in the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds.”

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Moreover, we also found a tweet from the official X handle of ‘Palestinian Information Center’ uploaded on 25, March 2019 with the caption “Gaza under bombardment”.

Gaza under bombardment pic.twitter.com/3UzEjIm2VJ

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) March 25, 2019

Conclusion

It is evident from the DFRAC’s fact check that the viral image dates back to 2019, not from recent. Therefore, the claim of social media users is misleading.