Netanyahu mocks death rumors again in new video with US envoy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again mocked online rumors about his death, this time appearing in a new video with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, as conspiracy theories about the Israeli leader continue to circulate on social media amid the ongoing conflict in Iran.
New video shows Netanyahu mocking death claims
In the latest video shared by Netanyahu on Twitter, Huckabee is seen hanging out with the Israeli prime minister in his office and joking that US President Donald Trump had sent him to investigate Netanyahu.
“Donald Trump wanted me to come and make sure you were OK,” Huckabee says with a laugh.Netanyahu responded: “Yes, Mike, I’m alive.”
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Huckabee then says Trump wanted to make sure “because you guys get along so well.”The Israeli Prime Minister continued the joke, taking aim at another viral online claim that his recent videos were AI-generated.“We shake hands with five fingers on each hand,” Netanyahu says, mocking social media posts alleging that he had too many fingers in earlier footage.The comment was a direct reference to the so-called “six fingers” conspiracy theory that has been widely shared online in recent days.
Netanyahu also cites latest Israeli attacks
The video was not limited to humor only.At one point, Netanyahu pulled out a card listing senior Iranian leaders to be targeted by Israel.“Today I erased two names from the punch card,” he says, referring to the overnight killings of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani.Praising Washington’s role in the conflict, Netanyahu says: “What the president and the US military are doing is incredible.”He further said that Israel is “very proud to stand shoulder to shoulder” with the United States in the campaign against Iran, accusing Tehran’s leadership of seeking nuclear weapons and the means to attack “every American city” after “eliminating Israel”.“They’re not going to do that,” Netanyahu says. “We’re eradicating them.”Sharing the clip on Twitter, Netanyahu wrote: “It’s good to cross names off the list – it’s even better to do so shoulder to shoulder with our American friends.”He added, “Good to see Ambassador @GovMikeHuckabee. Always a pleasure.”The post was intended to strengthen his public presence and infer closer strategic alignment with the Trump administration at a time when misinformation about his position was spreading online.
Rumors have been flying for several days
It is now the latest in a series of videos posted by Netanyahu to refute false claims about his death.The Israeli Prime Minister on Monday shared another clip of himself outside, in which he was apparently casually chatting while buying a coffee.In that video, when told that some channels were claiming he was dead, Netanyahu quipped: “I’m dying for coffee”. This came a day after he posted another video showing both of his palms and mocking rumors about his death as well as the claim of “six fingers”.“What do they say I am?” Netanyahu had captioned that earlier video.
PM office, Israeli envoy first refuted claims
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has already dismissed the rumors as completely false.“These are fake news; the prime minister is fine,” the office told Anadolu News when asked about social media posts that claimed Netanyahu was killed in retaliation for recent Israeli and US attacks on Iran.Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar, while speaking to reporters in Delhi, dismissed the viral claims, saying, “PM Netanyahu is alive. I saw him more than once when I was in Israel. The cafe’s video is not AI-generated. A lot of misinformation is being spread.”Azar also accused Iran and its “allies” of spreading misinformation, TOI reported.
‘Six fingers’ theory fuels AI speculation
The “six fingers” rumor appears to have taken hold after Netanyahu posted video of a press conference on Friday about the conflict involving Israel, the US and Iran.Some social media users claimed the footage was AI-generated, pointing to the moment when Netanyahu raised his hand and what, in their view, appeared to be an extra finger.Users described it as a “classic AI finger glitch”, although the Israeli government has rejected this claim.The rumors have spread during a period of heightened regional tensions that began on February 28, when Israel and the United States launched coordinated attacks on targets in Iran, leading to a flood of misinformation, manipulated views and unverified claims online.