Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is squashing speculation that he is dead after wild conspiracy theories claimed that he was killed in the war with Iran.
Netanyahu appeared in a new video on Tuesday, wishing Iranians a happy holiday season ahead of the Persian New Year’s celebration of Nowruz.
“This year, this holiday has special meaning,” Netanyahu said, appearing in front of two Israeli flags and a bookshelf. “Celebrate it with your friends, your family, your loved ones.”
The well-wishes came after conspiracy theorists claimed earlier videos of the prime minister were AI deepfakes meant to conceal his death in an airstrike, including one in which some viewers claim the Israeli leader is seen with six fingers, a classic AI tell. In response, Netanyahu satirically held up five fingers in another video. A caption reads in Hebrew, “They say I’m what?”
Several news outlets, including the Independent and Newsweek, have verified the authenticity of both videos.
The swirling rumors of the prime minister’s supposed death come as casualties mount on the other side of the Israeli-U.S. war with Iran, where airstrikes have killed senior officials, including the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu on Tuesday also announced the killing of Ali Larijani, one of the top leaders in the Iranian regime.
Meanwhile, the war, now its in third week, has already brought massive political and economic upheaval to the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint in the international oil trade, is also effectively closed, sending crude oil prices to multi-year highs and pushing U.S. gas prices up an average of 25 percent, according to the New York Times.
Critics of the conflict have increasingly pointed their fingers at Israel—and Netanyahu—for dragging the U.S. into the conflict.
On Tuesday, Joe Kent, a top U.S. counterterrorism official, named Israel as a key reason he was resigning from his position.
“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote on social media.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shot back, writing on X that “President Trump had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first.”
