Netanyahu breaks silence amid rumours of his assassination by Iran | World | News
The Israeli Prime Minister responded to claims he had died (Image: Getty)
Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared in video on social media amid internet rumours that he had died. The Israeli leader was seen ordering coffee just days after rumours circulated after a video appeared to show him with six fingers on his right hand.
In the clip, shared on official social media channels, the prime minister mocked online rumours that he had been killed by an Iranian air strike or assassinated by an enemy state. Netanyahu showed both his palms with five fingers in the video, captioned “They say I’m what?” He added: “Do you want to count my fingers? You can see them here… and here. See? Very nice.”
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He continued: “I am dead… for coffee,” he said, using a Hebrew phrase that roughly translates to loving something to death. “You know what? I’m “dying” for my people. How they are behaving is fantastic,” according to local media translations.
Using the video to address his nation, Netanyahu told the camera: “Continue to listen to Home Front Command instructions at all times—listen to Home Front Command and also to city mayors—to always be near a protected space.
“We will ease restrictions as much as possible. And thank you for the coffee, it’s excellent. I don’t know about the calories…”
Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel and the United States following the killing of its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
His son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has been named as the successor but has yet to be seen in public after being injured in the strikes that killed father.
However, in a statement released by a spokesperson, Khamenei vowed to keep up attacks on Gulf Arab countries and use the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel.
In the statement read by a state TV news presenter, he vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school that killed more than 165 people.
His comments signalled no plans for talks to end the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies, international travel and the relative safety enjoyed by the Gulf Arab states.
Netanyahu denounced the new supreme leader as a “puppet of the Revolutionary Guards” who cannot appear in public.
And he addressed the Iranian people, calling this a moment for a “new path of freedom”.
But “at the end of the day, it depends on you. It is in your hands,” he added at a news conference. “We are creating the optimal conditions for the fall of the regime.”
US and Israeli strikes have exacted a heavy toll on Iran’s leadership, military and ballistic missile programme but have failed to topple the government, which US President Donald Trump has at times suggested is his goal.
Mr Netanyahu said Israeli attacks had killed a top Iranian nuclear scientist and hit others.
