Fact-Check: Old, Unrelated Clip Viral as UAE Sending Medical Aid to Israel

This is an old video from 2021. The UAE has not sent medical aid to Israel.

Fact-Check: This video is from 2021 and not linked to the ongoing Iran and Israel tensions. 

(Source: The Quint) 

A video showing an aeroplane with flags of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel has gone viral on social media.

Those sharing have claimed that the UAE has sent medical supplies to Israel, amid tensions with Iran.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• The video is old from 2021. It shows the first direct passenger flight initiated between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi.

What we found: At first, we divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across the same video on YouTube by Erem News from 6 April 2021.

• This predates the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. The video noted, "The first commercial flight of the UAE's Etihad Airways arrives in Israel" (sic.)

• We ran a relevant keyword search and found an article by the Jerusalem Post from April 2021.

• It mentioned that Etihad Airways launched its first-ever scheduled commercial flight from Abu Dhabi, UAE to Tel Aviv, Israel.

• The flight, which took three hours and twenty minutes, was received with a water-cannon salute at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

• Aboard the flight were the Israeli Ambassador to the UAE, Eitan Na'eh, and the UAE Ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, along with Etihad Airways's Tony Douglas and a delegation of UAE tourism and hospitality operators.

• The launch of this new route followed the Abraham Accords, the peace and normalisation agreement signed between the UAE and Israel in September 2020, which has led to the burgeoning of security, trade, and political ties, including the opening of travel between the two countries.

• Additionally, the airline company also released a press release in this matter.

Here is a preview of the press release. 

(Source: Jerusalem Post) 

• A BBC report from May 2021 also featured some information about the then newly launched Etihad flight between the two countries.

Here is the preview of the report.

(Source: BBC) 

• We did not find any credible reports to prove that UAE was sending medical aid to Israel.

Conclusion: This video is old from 2021 and has no links to the ongoing Iran-Israel tensions.

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