Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday released a light-hearted video from a Tel Aviv coffee shop, directly mocking viral social media rumours that he had been killed in an Iranian missile strike and that his previous public address was an AI-generated deepfake. Notably, several Iranian and Pakistani social media users had spread the rumours of the Israeli PM’s death. Moreover, many of them had falsely claimed that Iran hit Netanyahu with a missile after Indian journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, who is in Israel at present, ‘revealed’ the location of the Israeli PM in a live broadcast.
In the one-minute clip posted on X, Netanyahu stands casually at a counter holding a cup of coffee, smiling and chatting with staff. He opens with asking the person making the video, “What did you ask me?”, and the person says, “They are claiming on the Internet that you are dead?”
אומרים שאני מה? צפו >> pic.twitter.com/ijHPkM3ZHZ
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 15, 2026
The Prime Minister responds by saying, “I’m dying for coffee, you know what I mean? I’m dying for my people and how they behave — fantastic!” He then shows both his hands to the camera, saying, “Want to count my fingers?” explicitly addressing claims that an earlier video showed him with six fingers — a supposed tell-tale sign of AI generation. It was being claimed that the ‘AI-generated’ video was used for his address after he died in the Iranian strike.
After being asked what message he wants to give to people who want to go out and get some fresh air, the Prime Minister says, “To those going out, go out, but stay near a protected area. Your support gives strength to me, the government, the IDF, the Mossad, and our institutions. We’re doing things I can’t share right now, but are taking action, hitting Iran very hard, even today, and Lebanon too.”
Netanyahu added, “You ask me to keep going, and say to all of you, keep going as well. Keep following the instructions of home front command and city administrations. Always stay near protected area. We will make it as easy as possible.”
He thanked the shop for the excellent coffee, joking that its calorie content seems to be dangerous to him.
How the death and AI rumours began
The rumours gained traction two days ago after Netanyahu posted a video of a press briefing on the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict. At the 0:35 mark, when he raised his hands, a shadow and slight angle created an optical illusion of an extra finger next to his little finger, which some users immediately labelled a “classic AI finger glitch.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, at a Press Conference:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 12, 2026
"Citizens of Israel, my brothers and sisters,
We are in historic days, days that will be recorded in the annals of Israel. In Operation Roaring Lion, our roar is growing stronger. pic.twitter.com/wtxqrHoPzM
Social media erupted with claims that the video was artificially generated and that Netanyahu must therefore be dead. However, the footage was authentic; the full unedited video shows him with the normal five fingers on each hand, and the apparent sixth finger was merely a lighting artefact.
The speculation intensified further with claims that Indian journalist Aditya Raj Kaul live-tracked and broadcast Netanyahu’s location during a recent Iranian missile barrage. Using Kaul’s coverage of Netanyahu’s visit to a site hit by Iranian missile, social media users claimed that it was a live broadcast and an Iranian missile had struck the exact spot using the coordinates obtained from the video.
> Aditya Raj kaul wanted a media byte from Netanyahu.
— Jitesh (@Chaotic_mind99) March 14, 2026
> He started tracking his movements and started following him everywhere.
> he got so desperate that he showed his footage & exact location on live TV.
> IRGC saw it and fired a missile on the same location.
Now sources… pic.twitter.com/UmiRUTLs6C
This triggered a fresh wave of “Netanyahu missing/dead” posts and even jokes about Kaul “getting Netanyahu killed,” and claims of him being a double agent. Some asked whether Iran should reward Indian ships for the alleged tip-off, while others falsely claimed Kaul had been arrested by Israeli police.
@AdityaRajKaul is agent Aditullah Al-Hindi…
— किंकर्तव्यविमूढ़ !! (@kartavyavimudh) March 15, 2026
Mossad Agent and also an IRGC Agent…
Maksad nahi bhulna, Bhaijaan… https://t.co/SnGq4hYjT4 pic.twitter.com/0cqb6LGXcd
Notably, Kaul covered Netanyahu’s visit to a site damaged by Iranian strike in Bet Shemesh on 2nd March, and the Israeli PM had made several public appearances after that. But the social media users falsely claimed that the broadcast was recent, and Netanyahu was not seen after that.
Reportage from Bet Shemesh, Israel for @NDTV on March 2 4:30pm where Israeli PM @netanyahu was visiting to review damage a day after Iranian Missile attack. 9 people including children were killed, 40 injured in the attack. Some baseless disinformation being spread on this video. pic.twitter.com/FZygdxymJZ
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) March 14, 2026
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office dismissed the entire narrative as “fake news,” stating Netanyahu was “fine.”
Sunday’s coffee-shop video was designed to end the speculation once and for all, proving he is alive and well, and directly rebutting both the “six-finger AI” claim and the missile-strike conspiracy. However, some people claimed that even this video is AI-generated, saying that the video does not look normal.
However, the Sataf Cafe in Jerusalem, where the video was taken, posted several photos on Instagram showing Netanyahu visiting he cafe and having coffee.
They wrote, “We were very happy to host the Prime Minister and his Staff today”. The cafe added, “And the main thing is that beautiful and quiet days will come! We send from here a big hug to the men and women of the reserves (and their families), the IDF and the Security and Rescue Forces.”
