...
By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Israeli prime minister's office has dismissed rumors about Benjamin Netanyahu's death after unverified social media reports claimed he had been killed.
The Claim
Social media posts that claim a video shows Netanyahu with six fingers on one hand have gone viral since Friday.
Read More on World
In one X clip, viewed more than 8 million times since Friday, Netanyahu is momentarily seen with six digits on his right hand.
Netanyahu has five fingers on each hand. Additional fingers in videos have been a key tell for content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), which can sometimes struggle with mapping hand movements.
This prompted speculation the Israeli leader could have been incapacitated or killed. There was no additional evidence to support this.
The Facts
The original source of the clip appears to be an eight-minute broadcast, published online by the Israeli government on Friday.
The most widely circulated clips claiming Netanyahu is briefly seen with six fingers comes about 50 seconds into the broadcast.
At that point, the Israeli prime minister gesticulates as he discusses "changing the balance of power in the East and beyond," according to a translation.
Video footage broadcast live on YouTube appears sharper than many of the videos spreading the extra-finger claim. A review of the broadcast footage by Newsweek shows Netanyahu with five fingers on his left hand.
A senior Israeli government official told Newsweek they had briefed Netanyahu face-to-face on Sunday.
"The prime minister is fine," Netanyahu's office told Newsweek, dismissing claims about his death as "fake news."
...
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday the country's military would continue to search for Netanyahu, pledging to assassinate the Israeli leader.
Questions have swirled around the fate of Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since he replaced his father as the head of the regime in Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who spent nearly four decades in power, was killed in initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on the Iranian capital on February 28. Israel has vowed to kill the new supreme leader and those involved with elevating him to power.
Strikes across the Middle East continued into Sunday, more than two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched its first strikes on Iran that were quickly followed by retaliatory attacks on a dozen countries in the region by Tehran.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had launched a "wide-scale wave of strikes" on western Iran in the early hours of Sunday, while Tehran fired missiles toward Israel.
Israel also issued fresh evacuation orders for seven areas in the south of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, ahead of Israeli attacks. The IDF has been striking infrastructure and targeting members of the Iran-backed political and militant group, Hezbollah, and carrying out ground operations in the south of the country.
Images from Saturday and Sunday show destroyed buildings in parts of southern Beirut, replaced by rubble.
The Ruling
Claims that Netanyahu was seen with six fingers on his left hand are false.
The viral videos circulating on social media show blurrier footage than the live broadcast by the Israeli government.
While the videos might not have been doctored, the lack of sharpness might make it appear Netanyahu's palm is an extra digit.
A review of that footage shows Netanyahu with five fingers throughout.
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it's not "both sides," it's sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines