Netanyahu Debunks Iran Death Rumors With Cafe Video

Iranian state TV said Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed or injured; the Israeli prime minister answered with a coffee run, Reuters reports. On Sunday, Netanyahu's office posted a short video on his Telegram channel showing him at a café on Jerusalem's outskirts, joking with an aide about the rumors while reaching for a cup of joe. Playing on Hebrew slang in which "dead" can mean "crazy about," or, per NDTV, can stand for the idea of loving something to death, he says, "I am 'dead' for coffee. You know what? I'm 'dying' for my people. How they are behaving is fantastic." He also showed the camera his fingers, after some speculated that images previously posted online showed him with six fingers and thus were AI-generated, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Reuters verified the café's interior and the timing of the visit through independent imagery and social media posts from the venue. The rumors of Netanyahu's demise emerged after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 and amid Netanyahu's limited public appearances during the conflict, which have mostly been controlled videos from his office rather than in-person media events. He held his first press conference since the war began only on Thursday, via video link, as emergency rules restricting public gatherings are keeping most Israelis at home or near shelters and have shut schools across much of the country.