Exchange of strikes between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been occurring along the Israel–Lebanon border and in Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 8 October 2023. Amidst this, a video of a boat engulfed in flames at sea has gone viral on social media, with the claim that an explosion occurred inside the port of Haifa as a result of missiles launched from Lebanon.
Let’s check the truth
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Fact Check-
We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google and the results led us to a similar video uploaded on YouTube on December 2023 with a caption, “Shocking reports of a fishing boat on fire in Budai Town. The fishing boat was caught in the sea of fire, but no one was injured” (Translated from Chinese).
Moving forward, we found news reports from Dec 2023 citing that a boat fire accident occurred in Budai Town in Taiwan in the early morning of 11 December. Fortunately, no one was trapped or injured, and the entire ship was charred and damaged due to the intense fire. The exact cause of the fire has yet to be clarified after investigation.
As per the local Chinese media reports, Chiayi County Fire Department had received a report of a fishing boat fire near Huanhe Street in Budai Township and immediately dispatched vehicles to the scene. They said no one was injured in the fire.
Thus, taking account of all these evidences, we can understand that a video of a fishing boat on fire in Budai Township, Taiwan falsely shared linking to Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Conclusion- Fact crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be Misleading. The video dates back to December 2023 and shows a fishing boat on fire in Budai Township, Taiwan.
