'Saw him personally when…' : Israel's Envoy to India refutes Netanyahu death rumours
As viral claims of Benjamin Netanyahu's death and AI-fabricated footage swept social media platforms, Israel's Ambassador to India stepped in with a personal account — insisting he had met the Prime Minister in person, more than once.
Israel's Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, has moved to publicly quash a wave of viral disinformation alleging that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has died and that recent footage of him was generated using artificial intelligence.
Speaking directly to news agency ANI on the rumours circulating across social media, Azar offered an unambiguous personal rebuttal - stating he had seen the Prime Minister with his own eyes during recent visits to Israel and that a widely discussed cafe video was entirely authentic.
What the Ambassador Said: A Personal Rebuttal to Social Media Speculation
The Israeli envoy to India did not mince words in addressing the conspiracy theories. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is alive. I saw him personally when I was in Israel more than once. This video at the cafe is not AI-fabricated.”
"There is a lot of disinformation," he added. The statement is notable both for its directness and for its source: a senior diplomat invoking first-hand witness to counter what he characterised as a deliberate and organised disinformation campaign.
How the Rumours Began: Allegations of Deepfakes and a 'Six-Finger Glitch'
The controversy has its origins in a set of viral posts that scrutinised Netanyahu's recent public addresses, with critics alleging visual inconsistencies they attributed to deepfake technology.
The claims gained particular momentum when social media users pointed to what they described as an AI rendering error in one video - a figure appearing to display six fingers rather than five, a tell-tale artefact sometimes associated with algorithmically generated imagery.
Israeli diplomatic officials dismissed those allegations as baseless, but the speculation continued to accelerate across platforms.
Netanyahu's Cafe Video: A Deliberate Five-Finger Response?
The controversy deepened after Netanyahu himself posted a short clip on X, formerly Twitter, showing him drinking coffee at a café in what appeared to be a relaxed, unscripted setting.
During the recording, the Prime Minister briefly raises his hand in a manner that observers widely interpreted as a pointed rebuttal to the six-finger allegations - visibly displaying five fingers to the camera.
Whether or not the gesture was calculated, it generated considerable discussion, with supporters reading it as a direct and deliberate answer to his detractors, and sceptics arguing it did little to settle the underlying questions about the authenticity of earlier footage.
Iran Denies it Wants Truce as Dubai Airport
Iran flatly contradicted US President Donald Trump's assertion that Tehran was seeking a ceasefire, launching fresh missile and drone strikes across the Persian Gulf that forced Dubai International Airport to temporarily suspend operations after an Iranian drone ignited a fuel tank fire on its grounds.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia both reported overnight strikes. Dubai announced a gradual resumption of flights within hours, though Emirates confirmed several Monday services would be cancelled. The key Fujairah oil-export terminal was hit for the second time in three days.
In Abu Dhabi, a Palestinian civilian was killed after a missile struck a vehicle on Monday.
The strikes mark the 17th day of hostilities since the US-Israeli alliance bombed Iran on 28 February. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, choking global energy flows. Trump has appealed to France, Britain, Japan and China to send warships to escort commercial vessels through the waterway. None have agreed.