Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference on Thursday and opened with a simple message. “First of all, I just want to say I’m alive, and you’re all witnesses.” With that line, he dismissed weeks of speculation and conspiracy theories about his death that had spread across social media.
The rumors began after Netanyahu’s March 12 televised address. Some users claimed the speech was generated by artificial intelligence. They pointed to what they said was an extra finger on his hand in the video. The claim went viral, despite no evidence to support it.
Netanyahu first addressed the rumors on March 15 with a short video posted to his official X account. In the clip, he is seen at a cafe outside Jerusalem. A waiter hands him a steaming cup of coffee. “I’m dead for coffee,” he says sarcastically. Then he raises both hands to the camera. “Do you want to count the number of fingers?” he asks.
But even that video faced skepticism. X’s AI chatbot, Grok, labeled it as AI-generated content. Many users continued to question whether Netanyahu was truly alive.
On March 17, Netanyahu released another video. This time he was walking alongside US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. In the clip, Huckabee says President Donald Trump asked him to “come and make sure you were okay.” Netanyahu responds, “Yes, Mike. Yes. I’m alive.” Then he holds up his hands. “We shake hands with five fingers in each hand, you know.” He pulls a card from his pocket but does not read it, adding to the playful tone.
The rumors did not emerge from nowhere. On Sunday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps issued a direct threat. “If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” the group said in a statement. That threat gave the online speculation an edge of real danger.
During Thursday’s press briefing, Netanyahu moved past the death rumors to discuss the war. He said Iran is being “decimated” and no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles. He praised his cooperation with President Trump. “We are winning, and Iran is being decimated,” he said. He predicted the war would end “a lot faster than people think,” though he did not give a specific timeline.
Netanyahu also cast doubt on Iran’s leadership. He said he was “not sure who’s running Iran right now.” He specifically mentioned Mojtaba Khamenei, the newly appointed supreme leader and son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war. “Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah, has not shown his face,” Netanyahu said. He described cracks in both Iran’s top command and its forces in the field, adding that Israel is working to widen those cracks as quickly as possible.
The press conference served two purposes. It formally put to rest the online speculation about Netanyahu’s death. And it delivered a message of confidence about the war’s progress. Whether the rumors ever had real traction or were simply a product of wartime confusion, Netanyahu made clear he is very much alive and still leading Israel’s campaign.
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