Posts on multiple social media platforms from Indian users on Wednesday shared a video claiming to show India attacking Pakistan amid the recent escalation between the two countries. However, the footage dates back to October 2024 and shows Iranian airstrikes on Israel’s Nevatim airbase.

On Wednesday, Pakistan mourned the loss of 31 lives in overnight attacks by Indian forces on civilians, describing New Delhi’s actions as “terrorism” and accusing it of continuous ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC).

The Pakistan military termed the downing of five Indian fighter jets as a major victory — and it was seemingly acknowledged when Indian officials admitted that at least three of their aircraft had “crashed” within their territory.

As both countries continued to trade heavy artillery fire, authorities revealed the extent of the damage caused by Indian strikes at six locations — Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot and Shakkargarh in Punjab and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Azad Kashmir.

Since the breakdown in ties after the Pahalgam incident, the Indian mainstream and social media outlets have been spreading propaganda against Pakistan.

On Wednesday, an Indian user posted a video on X showing a missile strike on a residential area, claiming it depicted India attacking Pakistan. The post did not provide any other details about the alleged attack, such as the date, context or location.

The caption of the post said, “Happy Diwali, Pakistan. Indian Army – Jai Hind,” and included a hashtag of “Operation Sindoor”, the Indian military’s name for its aerial incursion.

The post quickly gained traction, amassing over 5.1 million views.

Other Indian users shared the same claim here and here, garnering over 406,000 views and 540,000 views, respectively.

The video was also circulated on Facebook here and on Instagram here and here.

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and intense public interest in the ongoing Pakistan-India military escalation.

A reverse image search conducted to investigate the video yielded a post by a user on X dated October 2, 2024, with the caption, “Iran officially declares state of war against Israel.” The post featured the same viral video.

Refining the search for that date yielded an October 1, 2024, YouTube video by Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan titled: “Iranian missiles targeting the Nevatim airbase in the Negev Desert”.

A keyword search for “Iran airstrike” and “Israel” around the corresponding date yielded an October 1, 2024, news report from Al Jazeera, titled “Iran says missiles fired at Israel in response to assassinations.”

According to the report, Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on October 1, 2024, in retaliation for the killing of senior Iranian and allied leaders, including top commanders from Hezbollah and Hamas. Israeli authorities reported that around 200 ballistic missiles were fired, triggering air raid sirens and shelter warnings across several regions. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had claimed responsibility, labelling the attack a response to Israeli “crimes”. While many of the missiles were intercepted, some caused significant damage and casualties, escalating fears of further regional conflict.

Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim that a viral video shows an Indian attack at an unnamed location in Pakistan amid their recent escalation is false.

The video is old from October 2024 and shows Iranian airstrikes on Israel’s Nevatim airbase.

Multiple claims

At the same time, iVerify Pakistan observed multiple other claims regarding the Pakistan-India escalation. Here are more claims that were debunked by the platform.

• Video of Baloch people celebrating India’s strike - MISLEADING

On Wednesday, an X user, who is an Indian supporter based on their past posts, shared a video of a group of men dancing to a song, with some children joining in as well.

The caption of the post said, “Live visuals. Celebrations have started in Balochistan after India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.”

The video received 2.2m views and was shared 7,400 times. The footage was shared with the same caption here, here and here.

A reverse image search of the video yielded a link to a YouTube video, dated August 15, 2023. The video has since been made private. However, the video was also shared on the uploader’s TikTok account on Aug 16, 2023.

The YouTuber named Azmat Baloch, with a following of 10.5K subscribers who posts videos of cultural Balochi dances on his channel, titled the clip, “Balochi lewa balochi dance.” Thus, the clip is not related to the current Pak-India escalation and does not show Baloch people celebrating Indian attacks.

• Video of Pakistani anchor crying on broadcast following Indian airstrikes – FALSE

On Wednesday, a known Indian propaganda account shared a video claiming to show a Pakistani anchor breaking down in tears during a broadcast following the Indian airstrikes.

The caption of the post said: “The Pakistani anchor on Indian strike.”

The post gained 1.8m views.

The same video with the same claim was extensively shared by other users as can be seen here, here, and here.

However, a reverse image search yielded a YouTube video uploaded on April 14, 2025, by Express News titled: “Palestine Kay Masoom Logo Mujhe Muaf Krna | Anchor Farwa Waheed Bursts into Tears During Live Show”.

The nearly 13-minute-long clip featured the anchor bursting into tears while expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza in the wake of atrocities perpetrated by Israel in its military campaign in the territory.

• Video of Indian airstrikes on Pakistan - FALSE

On Wednesday, Indian journalist Aditya Raj Kaul posted a 32-second clip showing what looked to be explosions and airstrikes.

The caption of the post said, “Breaking: Pakistan Army confirms attack by India. India has launched an attack on Pakistan. Missiles fired at Kotli, Muzaffarabad, and Bahawalpur — confirmed by DG ISPR to Pakistani journalists. India goes after the terror state Pakistan.”

The post gained 1.5m views.

The same video was shared by several Pakistani accounts as can be seen here, here and here, as well as by Indian accounts as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here with a total of 480,500 views.

A reverse image search yielded an X post of Afghan media outlet Kabul News on October 23, 2023, showing Israel’s bombing in Gaza.

The video showed the same footage with the caption that said, “Israel intensified its bombing of Gaza last night. According to Palestinian media reports, 400 people, including women and children, lost their lives in last night’s bombings, and hundreds more are still trapped under collapsed buildings.”

• Video showing aftermath of Indian attack on Lahore - FALSE

On Thursday, a video showing fire and thick smoke in the sky was shared on X by a user who, based on his previous posts, appeared to be a PTI supporter.

The caption of the post said: “They have reached Lahore, may God protect. The enemy is very cowardly. Attack him quickly before he tries to go to Jati Umra with evil ambition.”

The post garnered over 535,000 views.

The same video was shared by an Indian account. The post garnered over 10,000 views.

The same video also circulated on YouTube as can be seen here, here and here.

A reverse image search yielded a YouTube video uploaded on August 7, 2024, titled “LPG gas tanker blast in Pakistan”.

A side-by-side comparison revealed identical visual elements in both videos, including the fire, thick smoke, the highway location marker and the minaret. These consistent features confirmed that the viral footage was not recent and was falsely linked to current events involving India and Pakistan.

• Viral video of Indian jet shot down by Pakistan Air Force – FALSE

On May 7, a Pakistani user shared a video on X showing a jet being shot down by an air defence system, claiming it depicted an Indian aircraft. The post garnered over 400,000 views.

The same claim was shared by other Pakistani users as can be seen here and here.

However, a keyword search showed that neither Pakistani defence officials nor Indian authorities have released any such footage of aerial dogfights as of now.

A reverse image search yielded a YouTube channel that featured videos similar to the viral clip.

The description of the channel, translated from Japanese, reads: “I enjoy casual military simulations. I sincerely thank everyone who always supports me.”

Videos similar to the viral clip can be found here, here and here.

Users in the comments of the viral videos similarly pointed out that they were fake and from a video game.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.