On 13 June 2025, Israel launched attacks on more than a dozen targets across Iran under the codename Operation Rising Lion, with the stated objective of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Israel reportedly damaged key nuclear facilities and military installations, killing several of Iran’s top military leaders. In retaliation, Iran launched a series of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel under the name Operation True Promise 3. In this context, a video (here, here and here) showing people running is widely circulating on social media with the claim that it depicts chaos at Tel Aviv airport. Let’s verify the accuracy of this claim.
Claim: A video shows chaos erupting at Tel Aviv airport during the Iran-Israel conflict in June 2025, with people seen running.
Fact: The video is from the Florida Mall in Orlando, USA, recorded in February 2025 during a panic caused by an accidental firearm discharge. It has no connection to the Tel Aviv airport or the Iran–Israel conflict. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of keyframes extracted from the viral video led us to the same footage (here, here, and here) uploaded on 17 February 2025 by several users on social media. According to their posts, the video shows people running inside the Florida Mall in Orlando, USA, following rumours of a shooting inside the mall.
Building on this lead, we conducted further research and found media reports (here and here) covering the incident, along with a clarification from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. According to their statement, reports of an active shooter were unfounded. The panic was triggered by an accidental discharge of a firearm, and the only person injured was the individual handling the weapon.
Furthermore, a comparison between the viral video and Google Street View imagery from inside the Florida Mall confirms that the video was indeed shot at the Florida Mall, not at the Tel Aviv airport in Israel.
To sum up, an old video from the Florida Mall is being falsely shared as footage of chaos at Tel Aviv airport during the June 2025 Iran–Israel conflict.
