Unrelated old video shared as Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu running to hide in a bunker amid Iranian missile attack
A video (here, here and here) of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu running up a corridor is being shared on social media, claiming that he was running to a bunker to escape and hide from the Iranian missile attack in Israel on 01 October 2024. Let’s uncover the truth behind this video.
Claim: Video of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu running to escape and hide from the Iranian missile attack on Israel at midnight on 01 October 2024.
Fact: This is a three-year-old video where Benjamin Netanyahu was rushing to cast his vote as the Opposition leader in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Netanyahu shared the video on 14 December 2021, stating, “I am always proud to run for you. This was taken half an hour ago in the Knesset”. At the time of the recent Iranian missile attack on October 1, 2024, Netanyahu was reportedly in a bunker in the Jerusalem mountains. Hence, the claim is MISLEADING.
To uncover the truth behind this video, we conducted a reverse image search which led us to the same video shared on Benjamin Netanyahu’s Instagram and X accounts three years ago on 14 December 2021. In the post, where he is running in the Knesset, the parliament of Israel, Netanyahu stated in Hebrew, ‘I am always proud to run for you. This was taken half an hour ago in the Knesset.’
Further research led us to a report from the Israeli media outlet, Kikar, which reported on 14 December 2021, that Netanyahu, who was the opposition leader at the time, was running to cast his vote on an explosives law. Netanyahu had been in his room at the Knesset when he was called to vote at night, prompting him to run and cast his vote.
Further, Israeli media outlet Ynet reported on 02 October 2024, that at the time of the Iranian missile attack, Netanyahu was in a video call meeting with the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Staff to discuss the response to the missile attack at the National Crisis Centre (NCL), which is located in a fortified bunker in the Jerusalem mountains. Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the Iranian missile incident, stating that it was a significant mistake on Iran’s part and that they would have to pay for it.
To sum up, a 2021 video of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu running to cast his vote in the Israeli Parliament is shared as him trying to escape from a recent Iranian missile attack.