President Joe Biden is visiting Israel this week amid rising concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict.
Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died since the militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7.
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, multiple people on social media, including Russian-owned news outlet RT, shared a video claiming to show Biden arriving in Israel for his planned visit. But at least one person said in response that the video was taken more than a year earlier.
THE QUESTION
Does this video show President Biden arriving in Israel during the current war with Hamas?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, this video does not show President Biden arriving in Israel during the current war in Hamas. The video does show the president in Israel, but it was shot in July 2022.
WHAT WE FOUND
The video does not show President Biden arriving in Israel on Oct. 17, 2023. It was actually filmed in July 2022 during Biden’s first trip to the Middle East as president.
Biden arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 18, the White House said. The videos that falsely claim to show Biden arriving in Israel were shared one day prior to the president’s visit.
Using Google’s reverse image search tool, VERIFY traced the video back to Biden’s arrival at Ben Gurion Airport on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, in July 2022.
In the six-second clip circulating online, Biden is heard saying, “What am I doing now?” before several people direct him to the middle of a red carpet.
A video shared on July 13, 2022, by Jewish YouTube channel shiezoli shows the same scene from about 23:34 to 23:40. Reuters captured the same moment about 21 minutes into a YouTube video streamed live on the same day.
According to Reuters, the video shows Biden arriving at the airport and attending a welcome ceremony.
Both the U.S. Embassy in Israel and the White House also confirm Biden spoke at the airport on July 13, 2022. The July 2022 trip to the Middle East region also included visits to Saudi Arabia and the West Bank, according to the White House.
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