Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video on social media platforms on Sunday, a move aimed at denying widespread rumors circulating online, as well as Iranian claims that spoke of his "injury or death," or about ambiguity surrounding his health in light of the ongoing war.
Netanyahu appeared in a video filmed inside a cafe near Jerusalem, where he ordered a cup of coffee before commenting sarcastically on the rumors circulating about his death, in an attempt to dispel what he described as a wave of misleading news that spread in recent days. Netanyahu said in the video: "I am dying for coffee, I am dying for my people… How do they behave? Wonderful," before jokingly adding: "Do you want me to count my fingers?" He raised his hands and counted his fingers, in a sarcastic reference to one of the narratives that spread on social media, claiming that a recent official video showed him with six fingers. Official Iranian media widely circulated these rumors, as the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) posted on its "X" account that the Revolutionary Guard vowed to kill Netanyahu "if he is still alive," while the Tasnim agency spoke of "increasing pressure on Netanyahu to refute rumors of his death or injury." This media appearance comes at a time when the media and psychological war parallel to the military confrontations is escalating, where rumors and misleading news have become part of the tools of conflict, through which the conflicting parties seek to influence internal and external public opinion.
