Yemen\u2019s Huthi rebels have fired numerous missiles at Israel since the war on Gaza began, and while most have been intercepted, one penetrated air defences this month and landed near the country\u2019s main airport. A video of a major explosion has been shared on Facebook in Ethiopia with a claim that it shows Huthi missiles destroying an Israeli city. However, this is false: the video was filmed in 2020 in Lebanon, where a massive explosion caused by chemicals stored at Beirut port destroyed large parts of the capital city.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\u201cBreaking: Huthi missile attack has reached Israeli city and caused destruction,\u201d reads a\u00a0post <\/a>published on April 28, 2025, in Afaan Oromoo, one of Ethiopia\u2019s major languages.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nScreenshot of the false post, taken May 6, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA 34-second clip shows a massive explosion in the middle of a city and plumes of smoke.<\/p>\n
A YouTube link included in the post leads to an unrelated video speculating about preparations for war in northern Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
\u201cReports show that a new war is starting in northern Ethiopia. The TPLF group is aligned with the Fano fighters and Eritrea to fight against the Ethiopian government,\u201d says the narrator in the YouTube video.<\/p>\n
TPLF is the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front, a paramilitary group that fought against the Ethiopian government before a peace deal was signed in South Africa in November 2022. Fano is a militia from the Amhara region, where it has been fighting against government forces since July 2023.<\/p>\n
The narrator claims weapons are flowing to Tigray from war-torn Sudan while the Ethiopian government is recruiting new conscripts.<\/p>\n
Photos of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and TPLF leaders are seen on the screen while the narrator speaks.<\/p>\n
A similar post was shared here <\/a>on Facebook.<\/p>\nHuthi attack\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nYemen\u2019s Iran-backed Huthi rebel forces have launched<\/a> missile and drone attacks against Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\nOn April 27, 2025, The Times of Israel reported <\/a>that the militant group fired a ballistic missile at Israel, which the Israeli military said was intercepted before reaching its territory (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\nA week later, though, one of the projectiles slipped through and struck <\/a>inside the perimeter of Israel’s main Ben Gurion Airport (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\nHowever, the video does not show an Israeli city destroyed by Huthi missiles.<\/p>\n
Beirut blast\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nAFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify<\/a> to conduct reverse image searches<\/a> on keyframes from the video.<\/p>\nThe search results indicated that the video <\/a>was published on Instagram in December 2024 (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\nThe description that accompanied the video indicates that it showed a massive Beirut explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020.<\/p>\n
The video was also shared on Facebook <\/a>and TikTok<\/a> (archived here <\/a>and here<\/a>).<\/p>\nThe massive chemical blast <\/a>that devastated Beirut on August 4, 2020 killed more than 170 people and injured over 6,500. The explosion occurred in a warehouse in the port of Beirut and ravaged the capital, sparking unprecedented public outrage at the time (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\nAFP Fact Check matched features in the video to the location on Google Maps, including the church of Saint George Maronite Cathedra<\/a>l in Beirut (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\nSaint George Maronite Cathedral is about four kilometres from the port in Beirut.<\/p>\n\n![\"<span>Comparison](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/_x_LoA3cYbqtWVlfneGNhQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY2NA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/afp_factcheck_us_713\/d002050b72a41f93fa462366a19ee932\"\/)
Screenshot of the false post, taken May 6, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n A 34-second clip shows a massive explosion in the middle of a city and plumes of smoke.<\/p>\n A YouTube link included in the post leads to an unrelated video speculating about preparations for war in northern Ethiopia.<\/p>\n \u201cReports show that a new war is starting in northern Ethiopia. The TPLF group is aligned with the Fano fighters and Eritrea to fight against the Ethiopian government,\u201d says the narrator in the YouTube video.<\/p>\n TPLF is the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front, a paramilitary group that fought against the Ethiopian government before a peace deal was signed in South Africa in November 2022. Fano is a militia from the Amhara region, where it has been fighting against government forces since July 2023.<\/p>\n The narrator claims weapons are flowing to Tigray from war-torn Sudan while the Ethiopian government is recruiting new conscripts.<\/p>\n Photos of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and TPLF leaders are seen on the screen while the narrator speaks.<\/p>\n A similar post was shared here <\/a>on Facebook.<\/p>\n Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Huthi rebel forces have launched<\/a> missile and drone attacks against Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n On April 27, 2025, The Times of Israel reported <\/a>that the militant group fired a ballistic missile at Israel, which the Israeli military said was intercepted before reaching its territory (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n A week later, though, one of the projectiles slipped through and struck <\/a>inside the perimeter of Israel’s main Ben Gurion Airport (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, the video does not show an Israeli city destroyed by Huthi missiles.<\/p>\n AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify<\/a> to conduct reverse image searches<\/a> on keyframes from the video.<\/p>\n The search results indicated that the video <\/a>was published on Instagram in December 2024 (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n The description that accompanied the video indicates that it showed a massive Beirut explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020.<\/p>\n The video was also shared on Facebook <\/a>and TikTok<\/a> (archived here <\/a>and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n The massive chemical blast <\/a>that devastated Beirut on August 4, 2020 killed more than 170 people and injured over 6,500. The explosion occurred in a warehouse in the port of Beirut and ravaged the capital, sparking unprecedented public outrage at the time (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n AFP Fact Check matched features in the video to the location on Google Maps, including the church of Saint George Maronite Cathedra<\/a>l in Beirut (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Saint George Maronite Cathedral is about four kilometres from the port in Beirut.<\/p>\nHuthi attack\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Beirut blast\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n