By: Soham Shah
October 20 2023
Old video peddled as Israel Embassy attacked in Bahrain
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Post claiming Israeli Embassy in Bahrain has been set on fire (Source:X/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The video is from clashes during the 2012 Arab Spring in Bahrain. The video captures an attack on a police station in Sitra Island.
Claim ID 5980f0f5
What is the claim?
Multiple users on social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook have shared a video with a claim that the Israel Embassy in Bahrain was set ablaze amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. One such post was shared with the caption, “BREAKING: Israeli Embassy in Bahrain Set on Fire.” Archive links of the posts can be accessed here and here.
Posts claiming that the Israeli Embassy in Bahrain has been attacked. (Source:X/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, we found that the video is from 2012 and it shows people attacking a police station in Bahrain.
What is the truth?
Using reverse image search, we found a longer version of the video was posted by a channel called 'RevolutionBahrain' on December 30, 2012. Using Google Translate, we found that the video is titled “Bahrain: A police station was besieged and burned - Sitra (sic).” The description claims that the attack took place on November 3, 2012, at a police station on Sitra Island, after opposition leader Hassan Mushaima’s health deteriorated in Al-Khalifiya prisons.
The same visuals, as seen in the viral video, can be seen around the one-minute mark.
Logically Facts also geolocated the Sitra police station on Google Maps. After establishing that the YouTube video was the same as the viral video, we used a zoomed out version of the Youtube video for the comparison.
Similar features confirming the location in the viral video (Source: Google Maps, X)
Videos of various attacks on the Sitra police station are also available on YouTube.
Logically Facts could not independently verify the date or the reason the incident took place, but the video has been available online since December 2012.
The clashes took place during a wave of pro-democracy protests known as the Arab Spring shook the Middle East and North Africa. The protests began in Tunisia and Egypt and spread through the region rapidly, including Bahrain.
What about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas?
BBC reported on October 19 that 203 people had been taken hostage by Hamas in an attack on Israel on October 7. The attack also left at least 1,300 dead. The Gaza Health Ministry has said that retaliation attacks by Israel have killed over 3,785 in Gaza, as reported by Reuters on October 19.
The verdict
The video does not show an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Bahrain but a 2012 attack on the Sitra police station in Bahrain.