Fact Check: Misleading Footage Claimed as Israeli Refugees After Iran Attack

March 31, 2026 | 01:00 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video claiming to be showing the conditions of Israeli refugees after attacks by Iran has been circulating on Instagram [archive], Facebook, and TikTok since March 8, 2026. The clip shows hundreds of people gathered in the desert, which the uploaders claim to be starving Israelis awaiting aid from the United States as they flee.

But are the clips really showing Israeli refugees waiting for aid?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified the content using Google’s reverse image search and other credible sources. The results showed that the video does not depict Israeli refugees, but rather Palestinians in Gaza in 2025.

A similar image appeared on the website of the Yemeni news agency Saba on June 27, 2025, reporting Doctors Without Borders' (MSF) statement against airdropping aid, which claimed the lives of 500 people and injured nearly 4,000 others. Israel had blocked ground access, forcing humanitarian aid to be airdropped from aircraft.

A Facebook account of Hasn Shalan also posted the footage on June 2, 2025, capturing the plight of Gaza residents awaiting aid to be dropped from the sky.

The Largest Group of Refugees Comes from Iran

The series of Israeli and U.S. attacks on February 28, 2026, triggered retaliatory strikes by Iran. The conflict involving the three nations continues to rage to this day. The conflict spread to Lebanon after Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at Israel.

The Arab Weekly and The New Humanitarian report that approximately 3.2 million Iranians have been displaced. Meanwhile, more than one million people—or 17 percent of Lebanon’s population—have been forced to leave their homes.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) states that this humanitarian crisis has driven the global number of refugees to the highest level in history. The situation has grown increasingly dire as resources dwindle following cuts in funding for aid agencies by the United States and Western nations.

Meanwhile, the escalating U.S.-Israel war on Iran has disrupted global supply chains, with the closure of airspace and the halting of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz affecting humanitarian supplies intended for crises elsewhere.

CONCLUSION

Tempo’s verification concludes that the narrative claiming the circulating video shows Israelis crying en masse in the desert while pleading for U.S. aid is misleading.

TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM

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