These Images Do Not Depict Israeli Missiles Targeting Damascus
The Claim
Two photos have been circulated showing the destruction of Israeli missiles aimed at Damascus.
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Two images of missiles being fired into the sky have been circulating on news websites and Facebook pages for some time. In this case, it was asserted that Israel had launched eight missiles against the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Description: The screenshot shows the Facebook post sharing the claim.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating claim and discovered that it is misleading, as the two photos are old and do not show a recent Israeli missile destruction operation targeting Damascus. According to Reuters, the first photo, from September 2021, shows an Israeli Iron Dome intercepting a missile launched from the Gaza Strip.
Description: Screenshot from Reuters showing the original image and date of publication.
The second photo dates back to May 2021 of the Israeli Iron Dome intercepting missiles that Reuters said were launched from the Gaza Strip. Amir Cohen took the two photos for the agency.
Description: Screenshot showing photographer was Amir Cohen and date of publication.
The circulation of the claim comes against the background of the Israeli occupation army's announcement of bombing Syrian targets at dawn on Wednesday, February 9th. The Israeli army's account on Twitter published a tweet in which it said, "in response to the anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria earlier tonight, we have just bombed targets in Syria, among the targets are radar and anti-aircraft batteries.”
Description: Tweet in Hebrew from the Israeli Army’s account.
For its part, official Syrian media said that the air defenses had shot down several missiles launched by Israel from the occupied Golan, targeting Damascus. The other missiles killed one Syrian soldier and wounded five others. Therefore, based on the findings, while Israel did send targeted missiles to Syria, the images are unrelated to this recent attack.
Translated by Dina Faisal
