Video does not show Israeli lawmaker running off mid-interview as Iranian missiles hit; dates back to October 2023

The iVerify Pakistan team reviewed this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to find the original video.

Posts from users on social media platform X since June 23, 2025, were sharing a video, claiming it showed an Israeli lawmaker running off mid-interview as Iranian missiles struck amid the current conflict. However, the video is actually from October 2023, when foreign ambassadors were touring Hamas sites near Gaza and were interrupted by attack sirens.

Israel launched wide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences, killing top commanders, scientists and hundreds others on June 13. Both countries traded wave after wave of devastating strikes and missile volleys since then.

HOW IT STARTED

On June 23, a video was shared by a pro-Iranian account on X, showing two individuals giving an interview before abruptly running off mid-conversation.

The caption of the post said: “Breaking: An Israeli Knesset member ran off mid-interview as Iranian missiles began to rain down.” The user added, “The camera kept rolling — so did the fear.”

The post garnered over 821,000 views.

The same video with a similar claim was shared by Iranian state news outlet Press TV on X, gaining more than 10,000 views.

Several other X users shared the same video and claim, with individual posts receiving 170,000, 90,000 and 33,000 views, respectively.

Additional posts featuring the same video and similar captions were also shared widely on X as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here, collectively gaining more than 110,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the Iran-Israel conflict.

A reverse image search led to a 15-minute-long YouTube video published by CBN News, a US-based non-profit news organisation, on October 16, 2023. The video, titled “CBN crew, foreign officials run for cover as Hamas rockets hit mid-interview, Iron Dome intercepts”, contains the same viral clip.

A keyword search also led to an article on the CBN News website, published the same day, with the headline: “Foreign ambassadors encounter attack sirens on tour of Hamas terror sites near Gaza”.

According to the report, the footage was recorded during a fact-finding tour of the border town of Sderot. Israeli Knesset member and former UN ambassador Danny Danon had brought several foreign ambassadors to witness the daily threat faced by residents. Moments after Danon pointed out a nearby shelter, a rocket siren sounded, prompting the group, including media personnel and officials, to rush for cover.

Additionally, Sky News Arabia had shared the same video on October 15, 2023, via its X account, captioned: “The moment a rocket fell on the city of Sderot during a live TV interview with Israeli Knesset member Danny Danon during his visit to the region.”

Furthermore, Danon is not currently a Knesset member but Israel’s envoy to the UN.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a viral video shows Israel’s Knesset member running off mid-interview as Iranian missiles hit during the current tensions is misleading.

The video is from October 2023 when foreign ambassadors encountered attack sirens in Israel’s Sderot after a rocket attack amid the hostilities with Hamas. Danny Danon is also currently not a Knesset member.