This Image Is Outdated and Does Not Show a Downed Helicopter in Khiam, Lebanon

Misbar investigated the viral image and found it to be misleading.

An Israeli Helicopter Shooting Over the Gaza Strip

Through reverse image search, Misbar’s team found that the image was published online before the ongoing Israeli war on Lebanon.

The Arab News shared the image in an article published in March 2019, titled, “Gaza under fire: Israeli jets strike Hamas targets after Tel Aviv attack.”

The image was shared along with the caption, “An Israeli helicopter shoots flares over the Gaza Strip on March 25, 2019.”

Furthermore, Haaretz, the longest Israeli-running newspaper, shared the image in an analysis published in March 2019 about the escalation between Israel and resistance groups in the Gaza Strip. The image was also published along with the caption, “An Israeli helicopter shoots flares over the Gaza Strip on March 25, 2019.Credit: AFP.”

The Palestinian Information Center published a similar photo on its X account on March 25, 2019, but without the white smoke, which suggests that it was taken at a different moment.

March 2019 Escalation In Gaza

The viral image, which shows an Israeli helicopter shooting flares over the Gaza Strip, was captured in a three-day escalation in March 2019 after a rocket was fired from Gaza.

A rocket was fired from Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, damaged a house in central Israel and injured seven Israelis.

Following the incident, the Israeli air force conducted airstrikes on multiple locations across Gaza. In response, Palestinian armed groups fired dozens of projectiles toward southern Israel.

In its airstrikes, Israel killed 2 people and destroyed 32 houses, resulting in internally displacing 19 families.

A truce took place shortly after that on March 27. Later, the late Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh said after the escalation that the firing of the rocket was not intentional and was the result of a technical error.

Fierce Battles Between Hezbollah And the Israeli Army in Khiam, Southern Lebanon

As the Israeli army continues its attempts to control the town of Khiam in the Marjeyoun district in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah responds daily with missiles, drones, and artillery shells targeting Israeli military sites and settlements.

On Saturday, November 18, Hezbollah announced that it had launched rocket barrages toward Israeli army positions in the town of Khiam.

The Lebanese news agency said that the Israeli operation in Khiam is not limited to ground incursions but also involves destroying buildings and demolishing them by planting explosives.

According to the agency, the Khiam town is a strategic gateway that enables rapid land penetration to Lebanon. According to observers, the Israeli attempts to control the area would lead the Israeli army to control the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, reaching the Houla plain, and the possibility of cutting off the Bekaa road, which Israel considers an important supply hub for Hezbollah.

Hezbollah Fires 185 Rockets Into Israel

In its heaviest barrage in several days, Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets into Israel on Sunday wounding seven people.

On the other hand, Israel killed one Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 after striking a Lebanese army center on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, according to Lebanon's military. 

Such strikes are happening amid the U.S. efforts to ceasefire. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, described the Israeli strike as a direct message from Israel to reject all efforts and ongoing contacts to end the war.

In Lebanon, Israel killed more than 3,500 people, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry, while displacing about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon's population.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s bombardments in northern Israel killed 90 Israeli soldiers and nearly 50 civilians, while displacing around 60,000 people.

Read More

Old Photos Show Aftermath of Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza, Not Khiam, Lebanon

This Picture Does Not Depict Recent Clashes Between Hezbollah and Israeli Forces in Khiam