A post on X claims that Israel targeted a TotalEnergies gas station in Beirut after French President Emmanuel Macron banned military aid to Israel.

BREAKING🚨

Israel has targeted *FRENCH* Multinational Company TotalEnergies gas station in Beirut.

This comes after Emmanuel Macron BANNED military aid to Israel.

Netanyahu is a psychopath and has now targeted a major French company…🇫🇷🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/iPRAjNs9vi

— Pelham (@Resist_05) October 5, 2024

Verdict: False

There is no evidence to support the claim that Israel deliberately targeted a TotalEnergies gas station. A spokesperson told Check Your Fact that the station in question was not in operation and was not directly hit.

Fact Check:

Additional Israeli forces are being relocated to the Lebanese theater as the country’s military operation against Hezbollah expands, according to The Wall Street Journal. There are also concerns that there will be an additional maritime operation in addition to an expanded ground operation, the outlet reported.

The viral post alleges that Israel bombed a TotalEnergies gas station in retaliation for France’s decision to halt military aid. The post, which has been widely shared, suggests that Israeli forces targeted the station as part of its ongoing military operations in Lebanon.

However, this claim is false. Julia Boué, a spokesperson for TotalEnergies, told Check Your Fact that the station mentioned in the post was not hit. “It was is not our service station that was hit, but a building next to it,” the spokesperson confirmed, adding “all of our service stations located in southern Beirut have been closed for several days.”

Moreover, the original post belongs to the Al Jadeed, a Lebanese news channel. The local media outlet states nothing about the Israeli missiles hitting the stations belonging to the French company. (RELATED: No, Pakistan Did Not Threaten Nuclear Retaliation Against Israel)

While tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated in recent weeks, there is no verified evidence that suggests Israel targeted the French multinational company’s assets specifically. The claim may have stemmed from French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about potential halting sales of arms to Israel, according to BBC.

This is not the first time claims about the conflict in Lebanon have been misrepresented online. For example, Check Your Fact previously debunked other viral posts that falsely alleged Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructures or non-military targets