Fact-Check: Unrelated Video Peddled as US Aircraft Carrier Reaching Israel

The video dates back to November 2022 and shows a near-miss between two US Navy ships in California's San Diego Bay.

The video is from 2022 and is not related to the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine.

(Source: X/Altered by The Quint)

Social media users are sharing a video of two ships in a body of water, claiming that it shows a United States (US) vessel carrying F-16 fighter jets reaching the western coast of Israel.

• This comes shortly after the US sent the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, to the eastern Mediterranean sea to assist Israel in its fight against Hamas.

An archive of this post can be seen here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archives of more claims can be seen here, here and here.)

But...?: The claim is false.

The video dates back to November 2022 and shows a near-miss collision between two US Navy vessels in California's San Diego Bay.

How did we find out?: Using InVID, a video verification tool, we divided the video into keyframes and ran a reverse image search.

One of the searches led us to a report by The San Diego Union Tribune, published on 30 November 2022, which carried a still of the viral video.

The headline mentioned a "near-miss incident between two warships" in San Diego Bay, California.

The report carried a still from the viral video.

(Source: The San Diego Union Tribune/Altered by The Quint)

It carried a visual of the incident, which identified the vessels as USS Momsen and USS Harpers Ferry.

The Independent also reported on the incident, carrying a video identical to the one in the claim.

Both videos show the same incident, which is also known as 'Warship Chicken'.

(Source: X/The Independent/Altered by The Quint)

US' Assistance for Israel: United States' Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Gerald R Ford, the country's newest and largest aircraft carrier, to set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean sea to assist Israel's operations against Hamas.

• The carrier will be accompanied by approximately 5,000 sailors, cruisers, warplanes, and destroyers, reported Associated Press.

• Over 1,300 people have been killed as a result of the conflict, which reportedly includes American nationals.

• You can read the latest updates on the conflict here.

Conclusion: An old video of a near-miss collision between two American Navy ships in California is being falsely linked to the Israel-Palestine war.

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