Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday released a video in response to online rumors that the Israeli leader had died in the midst of the two-week long U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran.
Iranian state-run media this month published several speculative media reports that claimed Netanyahu had died, while multiple prominent social media influencers also spread the claim in recent days or have asked questions about his whereabouts.
A video released on Netanyahu’s Telegram and X accounts showed the prime minister at a cafe in Jerusalem’s outskirts being asked about the death rumors. Netanyahu responds with a pun on the word dead that also means crazy in Hebrew, according to a Reuters translation, as he ordered a cup of coffee.
“I’m crazy about coffee. You know what? I’m crazy about my people,” Netanyahu told the aide, according to the translation.
Since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, Netanyahu has visited at least two towns hit by Iranian missiles, a hospital, port, and military bases, but there was little to no media access, and videos were distributed by his office since then.
Netanyahu, who rarely gives interviews to Israeli press or holds news conferences, convened his first press conference since the start of the war via a video link on Thursday, a similar format to the one he used in June during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.
In the video released Sunday, he also asked the person filming him if they wanted to count his fingers on his hand before he raised both hands, responding to claims of AI-generated video footage of him showing six fingers that were circulated online.
It comes as Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps released a statement on Sunday saying that it will keep up efforts to assassinate Netanyahu, according to state-run Iranian media. The statement further described the Israeli leader as a war criminal.
The U.S.–Israeli operation killed dozens of top Iranian leaders, including its leader, Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, earlier in March. The younger Khamenei has not made any public appearances since he was named as the top leader, but a statement attributed to him that was released last week vowed to keep the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive,” he said in a phone call with NBC. “So far, nobody’s been able to show him.”
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” he added.
Iran has responded by firing missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf countries. Multiple commercial ships that were in the Strait of Hormuz were also attacked last week.
The price for a barrel of oil has shot up amid the war, hovering around $100 on Friday. Gas prices have, on average, increased well over 50 cents per gallon nationwide since the conflict started, according to data provided by the American Automobile Association.
On Saturday, Trump urged a number of countries who receive oil via the strait should “take care of that passage” and coordinate with the United States to ensure “everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well.”
“This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be,” he wrote.