Video of UAE sending medical aid to Israel amid Iran war

Rating Justification

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

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

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since June 20, 2025, were sharing a video, claiming that the United Arab Emirates has sent medical aid to Israel amid the Iran conflict. However, the video is doctored and a combination of two unrelated videos.

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. A ceasefire was achieved on June 24 after 12 days of fighting.

HOW IT STARTED

On June 20, an account on X shared a video showing an Etihad Airways aircraft landing on a runway, with the flags of the UAE and Israel visible on the plane. The video also shows boxes labelled “UAE Aid” being unloaded.

The post’s caption said: “Medical supplies from the UAE arrive for the Israeli gang.
Is there a greater disgrace than this?!!! Shame.”

The post gained 1.5 million view and was reshared 5,500 times.

The same video, with similar captions, was shared by several other users on X as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, collectively gaining around 986,000 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 conducted led to a news article published by the US-based magazine Forbes on April 7, 2021, titled “Etihad Airways Launches Historic Service From Abu Dhabi To Israel.” The article features the same visuals seen in the first part of the viral video.

According to the report, the footage is from Etihad Airways’ first-ever commercial flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, launched as part of improving diplomatic ties between the UAE and Israel following the Abraham Accords. The flight marked a significant milestone, aimed at enhancing cooperation in tourism, trade, and technology, and symbolised a broader shift in regional relations.

The same image was also published by Al Arabiya English in a news story dated April 6, 2021.

To find the video, a keyword search led to a Facebook video posted on April 7, 2021, with the caption: “Amazing! The first-ever Etihad passenger flight from Abu Dhabi to Israel has landed in Tel Aviv. We are making history. This is a new Middle East.”

However, the video did not include the second segment showing UAE humanitarian aid. None of the associated news reports or captions mentioned any humanitarian or medical aid being sent to Israel, contrary to the viral claim.

A separate reverse image search conducted for the second part of the viral video, that showed aid being loaded onto aircraft, led to a Facebook post dated September 13, 2023, with the caption, “The UAE is sending a rescue team and providing an airlift of two planes per day, carrying medical equipment and search and rescue gear, to help provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Daniel in eastern Libya.”

A keyword search yielded a September 16, 2023, report from Dubai-based English publication Gulf News titled: “UAE continues sending aid to Libya for the 5th day in a row”.

As per the report, the UAE was sending humanitarian and relief aid, and search and rescue teams to Libya to assist in mitigating the fallout of Storm Daniel. It also featured the visual of the same type of aid package as seen in the viral video.

Furthermore, the viral video also included a logo attributed to Israel’s Channel 10. Upon investigation, it was found that Israel’s Channel 10 officially shut down in January 2019.

Taken together, the evidence showed that the viral video was a doctored compilation of footage from two separate and unrelated events: Etihad’s first flight to Israel in April 2021 and the UAE’s aid mission to Libya in September 2023.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows the UAE sending medical aid to Israel amid the Iran conflict is false.

The video is doctored and features footage from two separate and unconnected events.

Evidence and References

April 7, 2021, Forbes news article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2021/04/07/etihad-airways-launches-historic-service-from-abu-dhabi-to-israel/

April 6, 2021, Al Arabiya English news story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/business/economy/2021/04/06/Abu-Dhabi-s-Etihad-starts-direct-passenger-flights-to-Israeli-capital-Tel-Aviv

April 7, 2021, Facebook video:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=176041351019693

September 13, 2023, Facebook video of UAE’s aid mission to Libya:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=626895826099608

September 16, 2023, Gulf News report:
https://gulfnews.com/uae/emergencies/uae-continues-sending-aid-to-libya-for-the-5th-day-in-a-row-1.1694886748343