Rocket sirens were reportedly heard in Israel’s Haifa and surrounding areas as Lebanon launched at least 10 rockets towards the city on September 27. Some of these were intercepted, while others landed in open areas.
Amid this, a video purportedly showing this attack in Haifa went viral on social media. The clip featured a huge fire in the middle of a seemingly populated area, with vehicles travelling on the roads nearby and several well-lit buildings.
One person shared the video on X, writing, “Haifa is burning. Thank you Hezbollah.” The archive of this post can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that this video has nothing to do with the ongoing attacks in Haifa. It shows a huge fire in a furniture store in the city on August 13 this year.
Our Probe
Reverse searching keyframes from the viral video led us to the same video in a post dated August 14, 2024. It stated that the video was from Haifa.
Further searches led us to a few media reports about this incident. According to one news report, a furniture store located on Maklef Street in Haifa caught fire on August 13. Several media outlets carried this video at the time.
Reportedly, it took firefighters hours to douse the flames. The commander of the brigade, Rabbi Reshef Barak Silem, told media outlets that the roof of the building was on the verge of collapsing because of the damage caused by the fire. We also found multiple videos of firefighters trying to douse the fire inside the store, with one showing a bed on fire.
The cause of the fire was not mentioned in any reports or posts we found. Had it been a foreign attack, the cause would have been highlighted. Regardless, it is more than clear that the video is unrelated to any recent Hezbollah attack on Israel.
