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Speculation has been rife on the status of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu following a widely circulated viral video.
Social media platforms were flooded with questions asking whether the Israeli leader had been targeted in an air strike after a screengrab was shared of him speaking – with viewers noticing what looked like six fingers on one hand.
Nonetheless, despite posts claiming that the unique upload had been deleted,the image had never been shared via official Israeli government media channels or from Netanyahu’s own account.
Officials have confirmed that reports were fabricated, with no indication that Netanyahu was targeted in an attack or had left Israel.
Netanyahu’s most up-to-date upload to X was a video of him speaking at a press conference on Thursday, addressing Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran.
It was captioned: ‘We will not be waiting. We’re initiating, we’re attacking, and we’re doing so with force.’
Benjamin Netanyahu is alive
He put the unfounded conspiracy theories surrounding his death to bed in a brand new video.
Ordering coffee at a restaurant, he says ‘I’m dead… for coffee,’ using a typical Hebrew phrase that roughly translates to loving something to death.
‘I like my nation to death,’ he says, ‘and the way they’re conducting themselves.’
He holds up his 10 fingers to the camera, dispelling rumours, confirmed by Grok, that his latest conference was actually an AI version of the Israeli prime minister.
Within the video, he says that Israelis should leave their homes for a ‘breath of fresh air’, but remain near shelters as Iran ups strikes.
He also promised Israelis that the federal government restrictions on activity will likely be lifted as soon as possible.
Why do people think Netanyahu could be dead?
A video of Netanyahu giving an update on Israel’s war against Tehran, appearing to indicate his right hand with six fingers, gave rise to speculation that the clip had been faked as a canopy since the Israeli PM had died.
After it emerged that Netanyahu was alive and well, several users quickly dismissed the clip as a poorly made AI deepfake.
Experts have warned that AI often experiences difficulty recreating certain human features, with badly simulated fingers a key telltale sign the video could also be faked.
But there was a distinct explanation for the misleading Netanyahu video.
Analysts explained the widely shared screenshot had been frozen in a way that appeared to indicate a further finger at what was actually the sting of Netanyahu’s hand.
A better take a look at the leader’s raised hand shows he had just 4 fingers and a thumb – according to the overwhelming majority of individuals.
The clip is just the most recent example of how briskly misinformation spreads online during times of conflict and uncertainty.
Where is Netanyahu now?
All evidence suggests Netanyahu is constant to direct his military campaign from Israel.
On Thursday, the Israeli PM announced at a press conference, his first because the latest war began, that Israel had killed several of Iran’s top nuclear scientists.
He said that the ‘moment of freedom’ for Iranian people was drawing close, telling the country’s residents: ‘At the top of the day, it is dependent upon you. It’s in your hands.’
His address also dropped a subtle indication that the campaign could possibly be entering its final stages as lots of his goals had been met.
‘We are able to already say with certainty: this is not any longer the identical Iran, this is not any longer the identical Middle East, and this is just not the identical Israel’, he declared.
The leader’s last update his social media channels was a clip of his speechshared on Friday.
Nonetheless Netanyahu’s online absence for the last 24 hours is just not unusual, provided that he doesn’t routinely share posts in the course of the Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, which runs from Friday to Saturday evening,
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