Hoax! Photo of Iranian Missile Attack Destroying Israeli Territory

A post on social media platform X circulated a photograph claimed to show Israeli territory destroyed and levelled to the ground following Iranian missile strikes. The post spread across multiple social media platforms with a narrative claiming that thousands of Iranian missiles had devastated Israeli territory leaving no buildings standing.

The narrative in the post stated: “Due to thousands of Iranian retaliatory missile strikes, Israel is levelled to the ground, the only building still visible is the Mossad building. The destructive power of Iran’s doomsday missile al-jahanam is truly terrifying.”

However, investigation revealed no official government information or credible media reports indicating that Iranian missile strikes had destroyed Israeli territory to the point of complete devastation.

Further investigation showed that the circulating photograph was identical to an image titled “Hiroshima, Japan. 1946-02-28. The First Atom Bomb Was Dropped on Hiroshima on 1945-08-06” stored in the Australian War Memorial archive. The photograph actually depicts the destruction of Hiroshima, Japan following atomic bombing by the United States on 6 August 1945.

According to ANTARA reports, the bombing killed approximately 70,000 people directly. The casualty count subsequently rose to more than 100,000 lives due to burn injuries and radiation effects. This bombing was followed by an atomic attack on Nagasaki, which ultimately led Japan to surrender and end the Second World War.

The photograph bears no connection to Middle Eastern conflict or Iranian missile strikes against Israel as claimed in the social media post. The claim that the photograph shows Israeli territory destroyed by Iranian missile strikes is therefore incorrect misinformation.