Fact Check: Israel wildfires burn down urban cities? Know the fact here
A video claiming to show wildfires hitting human settlements in Israel is viral on social media.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:A viral video posted on X claims to show wildfires burning buildings in Israel, depicting a massive blaze with thick smoke and destruction.
Fact:The claim is misleading; the video actually shows a fire at a casino and children’s park in Culiacán, Mexico, caused by a short circuit in January 2025.
Hyderabad: Israel has been grappling with severe wildfires in May 2025, with thousands of acres scorched near Jerusalem, prompting evacuations and causing significant environmental and economic damage. These fires have drawn global attention, with visuals of the disaster widely circulated online.
In this context, a video was posted on X by user @Syed_1109084 with the caption,“This is not Gaza.This is Israel.” (Archive)
The footage shows a massive fire with thick black smoke, a burning building, and a parking lot with vehicles, including a scene of a woman standing near a car observing the blaze. The post suggests this is a visual of wildfires devastating urban settlements in Israel, aligning with the reported environmental crisis.
Fact Check
NewsMeter investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The video does not depict wildfires burning buildings in Israel but instead shows a fire at a Royal Yak Casino and Air Jump Trampolines Park at Cinépolis Plaza , Mexico.
To verify the video’s authenticity, we extracted a key frame showing the burning building and a woman near a car, then ran a reverse image search. This led us to a matching image in a report by NewsBreak on January 17, 2025, titled “Unbelievably tiny cause of massive explosion that blew apart casino revealed.”
The article detailed a fire that destroyed a casino and an indoor children’s park in Cinépolis Plaza, Mexico, on January 16, 2025, caused by a short circuit during welding work. A related report on Pechanga.net confirmed the evacuation of 647 people during the incident.
Further, we found a Daily Mail World YouTube short uploaded on January 17, 2025, with the description: “A massive fire and explosions ripped through an indoor children’s park and a casino in Mexico on Thursday. A 39-year-old man was rushed to hospital for treatment to burns on his hands and back, authorities said. Two other people were treated on the scene by paramedics for shock. The Civil Defense director told N+ Mas News that the fire started at a children’s play place, while workers were handling repairs. They attempted to extinguish the fire themselves before it grew out of control and spread to the casino.”
The visuals in this video matched the now-viral clip, showing an urban setting with a commercial building and a parking lot.
Therefore, the claim that the video shows wildfires burning buildings in Israel is misleading. It actually depicts a fire at a casino in Mexico from January 2025.
