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| - By: Emmi Kivi
May 7 2024
The video dates back to February 2024; it does not show a recent fire in the West Bank.
The context
Social media users shared a video of a large urban fire supposedly showing a recent fire in Hebron in the West Bank. The footage was shared with captions like, “A huge fire in the city of Hebron. They are calling for people to stay away."
On April 26, the video was shared on Threads with the caption, “Hebron in the West Bank tonight.” Users suggested the fire is related to Israel and the Israel-Hamas war with captions, “Hamas are not in the West Bank.”
However, Logically Facts found that the footage was captured on February 27, 2024, and shows a factory fire in Hebron, West Bank.
In fact
A reserve image search of some of the key frames of the footage led us to multiple results on social media posts dating back to February 2024. These posts show matching visuals to the viral video.
We also found an Instagram video with the same footage published on February 27, 2024. The account name is also visible on the video shared on Threads in April. Therefore, the footage of the fire predates April 2024. Some posts indicate that the footage shows a fire at the Royal Factory in Hebron, West Bank.
The screenshot on the left shows the viral video from April. The screenshot on the right shows
the same footage, posted on February 27. (Source: Threads/Instagram/Modified by Logically Facts)
Using a keyword search, we found an article by the media outlet Watan headlined “Massive Fire Engulfs Royal Plastic Factory in Hebron: A Crisis Unfolds.” The article, published on February 27, 2024, includes footage matching the viral claim. According to the article, a huge fire broke out at the Royal Plastic Factory, north of the city of Hebron, on February 27. The fire reached warehouses containing highly flammable materials, such as plastic and chemicals, with flames rising high enough to be seen from Jordan. On February 28, Roya News reported that the fire was largely under control, but surrounding areas had been evacuated to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby agricultural areas.
February reports about the fire did not state the cause of the fire, nor did they state that the fire was related to fighting during the Israel-Hamas conflict. Footage of the factory fire was previously misattributed to show Russia striking a NATO arms convoy that was en route to Ukraine, claims covered and refuted by Logically Facts.
The verdict
The video does not show a recent fire in the West Bank. The footage was captured in February 2024 and shows a large factory fire in the city of Hebron. Reports of the event did not indicate that the fire was related to fighting during the Israel-Hamas conflict. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.
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