Watan-A video circulated on social media claiming to show Israelis running in fear of an Iranian response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The video’s publishers alleged that it depicted Israelis fleeing from attacks they claimed were in retaliation by Iran.
However, it turned out that the video was misleading, as it was confirmed to be an old video first published on October 9th of the previous year, not after the attack targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1st of the current year.
On October 9th, 2023, an account on TikTok named “Judilano” posted the original video, captioning it “Live from Israel” and tagging it with “Israel,” “Live,” “Airport,” and “Natbag” (a term Israelis use for Ben Gurion Airport), along with the hashtag “war.”
استمتعوا معى بمشهد هروب وجري الصهاينة خوفا من غارات المقاومة وهجوم ايران المتوقع!! انهم يشربون من نفس الكاس!! هكذا انتقام الله العادل الحق.. والقادم اسوء لهم باذن الله! بحق دماء شهداء غزة الابرار! pic.twitter.com/hwB7Kb1J2Q
— Dr.Sam Youssef Ph.D.,M.Sc.,DPT. (@drhossamsamy65) April 7, 2024
The video showed people running in one of the airport corridors while others were lying down inside one of its halls, with alarms sounding in the background.
On the eleventh of the same month, “Stay Tuned,” a channel affiliated with the NBC network, posted the video on YouTube, titling it “Watch people fleeing and taking shelter inside an Israeli airport,” according to the Masbar platform.
Chaos in Israeli airports
Chaos in Israeli airports, including Ben Gurion Airport, ensued after Palestinian resistance executed the “Al-Aqsa Storm” operation in settlements near Gaza on the morning of October 7th.
Thousands of people tried to leave Israel on commercial flights, but these were delayed or canceled due to clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance factions.
Iranian Pledge to Respond
Iran had pledged to retaliate against an Israeli airstrike it accused Israel of orchestrating, targeting the Iranian consulate building in Damascus on April 1st of the current year.
The airstrike resulted in the deaths of two commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahim, as well as five Iranian military advisors.