Old image of illuminated flame towers in Azerbaijan goes viral with false claims

This is an old image and it dates back to 2015, not related to the ongoing conflict.

On October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization Hamas launched a major terrorist attack against Israel. According to reports 400 people died in this terrorist attack. Hamas militant leader Ismail Haniyeh told Al Jazeera that the attack was carried out to protest efforts by Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel. In this scenario, many countries chose to support Israel, while a few others have not declared sides in the war.

Some social media users are sharing an image of Flame Towers in Baku, Azerbaijan illuminated in the colours of Israeli flag on them with the claim that they were lit up in solidarity with the country Israel. The users shared the image with the caption, “Azerbaijan displays the Israeli flag on buildings in its capital of Baku as a sign of solidarity…

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The same post has gone viral on Twitter as well.

Fact Check- 

By performing a reverse image search on Google with the screenshot of the viral image led us to a tweet from June 2015, where the image was shared with the caption “Israeli Flag displayed on Flame Towers in #Baku honoring part. of Team Israel at @BakuGames2015 in #Azerbaijan

We also came across a Facebook page of Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles, which also shared the image in June 2015 with the caption “Israeli Flag displayed on Flame Towers in #Baku honoring participation of Team Israel at European Games in #Azerbaijan”

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In further search we found a YouTube video of June 2015 that shows the Flame Towers adorned with flags representing countries participating in the Baku Games. In this video, the Israeli flag also can be seen being displayed on the buildings.

Meanwhile we searched for news reports on whether the Flame Towers were lit up recently in support of Israel but could not find anything. The foreign ministry of Azerbaijan condemned “violence against civilians in the Israel-Palestine conflict zone” and expressed condolences for the tragic loss of lives “both in Israel and Gaza Strip”, calling for an “urgent de-escalation of the situation”.

Taking account of these evidences we can clearly understand that the image showing Flame towers lit up with Israeli flag is not recent but an old image from the year 2015.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be Misleading. This viral image dates back to 2015, when the Israeli flag was displayed on the Flame Towers along with other countries’ flags during the Baku Games in Azerbaijan. Not related to the ongoing conflict.