This video doesn't show Israelis fleeing to Cyprus; it's from the Philippines

As the war continues in Iran, social media accounts are posting footage of people rushing to board a boat. The posts claim the video shows Israelis trying to escape to Cyprus, an island country in the Mediterranean Sea.

"Residents of Israel are fleeing illegally to Cyprus," a March 19 X post read. Other accounts reposted the video with similar captions.

During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, news reports showed some Israelis evacuated to or were stranded in Cyprus. But we found no news coverage reflecting that it’s happening now. 

Reverse-image searches further show the video was taken in the Philippines. CNN Arabic reported that the video was first posted by a Facebook account based in the country. (We translated and read the CNN Arabic article using Google Translate.) 

The account posted the video Jan. 14, weeks before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. The Filipino caption translates to, "Racing to grab seats again." 

In a comment, the account said the video showed a boat in Pasacao Port en route to San Pascual. Pasacao and San Pascual are municipalities in the Philippines’ Bicol region.

The ship in the X video appears to match the motor vessel "Virgen de Peñafrancia III - Tres Reyes," which is owned by marine transportation company Starhorse Shipping Lines. A frame in the video shows the "Reyes" lettering on the side, which can be found in images of the vessel.

The boat serves the route described in the Facebook comment, according to an advisory from the Philippines’ Department of Transportation.

The scenery in the video, particularly the greenery in the background, also matches the port’s street view imagery found on Google Maps.​

(Screenshot, left, from original Facebook video; screenshot, right, from Google Maps)

The video does not show Israelis fleeing to Cyprus. We rate that claim False.