More false claims about ‘Karachi port destroyed’: Photo of Israeli airstrike on Rafah viral

Even as tensions escalate between India and Pakistan following military strikes between the two countries, unverified images and videos claiming to be related to the conflict have flooded social media. An image of an explosion illuminating the night sky and smoke billowing out is being shared with claims that it depicts the condition of Karachi port after Indian aircraft carrier warship INS Vikrant attacked it.

A fortnight after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam had killed 26 people, Indian armed forces in the early hours of May 7 launched Operation Sindoor, hitting nine sites in Pakistan and PoK from where attacks against India had been planned and directed. The Union ministry of defence described the action as “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”, with no Pakistani military facilities having been targeted. Late on May 7, reports came in of heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan on forward villages along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri areas of Jammu and Kashmir killing at least 16 civilians. They also attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India including in Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot and Amritsar, among other places, using drones and missiles. These were neutralized by India’s integrated counter UAS grid and air defence systems. Subsequently, Indian armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan in a proportionate response, and neutralized the air defence system in Lahore.

An X handle, Gujrat Titans (@Gujrat_titans_), shared the image on May 8 claiming it was a photo of Karachi port. (Archive)

The post has garnered over 25 Lakh views.

Atul Kushwaha (@RealAtulsay) shared the purported image along with 2 other images and a video clip depicting an open area with several parked cars, engulfed in flames and chaos, possibly caused by explosions. In the caption he claimed that INS Vikrant had attacked and burnt down Karachi port. He alleged that Bahawalpur division headquarters, too, had been destroyed along with Karachi post and Rawalpindi headquarters are on target. (archive)

The post has approximately 5 Lakh views.

Alt News has already fact-checked the video clip shared by the user and proved that it has no links with the India-Pakistan conflict. It is a three-month old video from Philadelphia. Read the Alt News fact-check report on the same. 

A similar post was shared by another X user, Vaishnavi (@Vaishu_z). The tweet was later deleted but not before it had reached around 6 Lakh views. Below is a screenshot of the post:

An Instagram account, Piccha_lyt, shared a collage featuring the image along with an image of INS Vikrant claiming that it depicts the destruction of the Karachi port. (archive)

Fact Check

Conducting a reverse image search on the image, we found a news report from February 24, 2020, by BBC, featuring the exact same image. According to the report, the alleged image depicts an air strike launched by Israel in Gaza and Syria in response to rocket fire.

The Guardian wrote that the image showed an Israel airstrike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip early on Sunday, February 23, 2020.

The readers should note there is no official confirmation from the Indian government about any strike involving INS Vikrant on Karachi port as of now. 

To sum up, the image of the nighttime explosion is from the year 2020 and it depicts Israel’s airstrike on Gaza. Claims that it depicts the port city of Karachi are absolutely false. 

The post More false claims about ‘Karachi port destroyed’: Photo of Israeli airstrike on Rafah viral appeared first on Alt News.

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