'I'm dead...for coffee': Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at rumours alleging his death in café video
Rumours were sparked after some social media users claimed the Israeli leader had six fingers on one hand during a press conference
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dispelled rumours he was killed in the Middle East war by recording a video of him at a café holding ten fingers to the camera.
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It comes after the PM delivered a press conference this week in which some social media users claimed was an AI deepfake and appeared to show with six fingers one on hand.
The theory grew momentum leading to allegations Netanyahu had been killed.
But releasing a video from a cafe on Sunday, he said: "Do you want to count my fingers? You can see them here, and here. See? Very nice."
Read more: Iran war LIVE: Tehran denies claim supreme leader is dead after Trump suggests 'he is not alive'
The video was captioned: "They say I’m what? Watch this. I am dead… for coffee," as he makes his order.
"I love my nation to death," he added.
Netanyahu's office had previously labelled the rumours as "fake news," adding: "The Prime Minister is fine."
He also pledged that his Government restrictions on activity will be lifted as soon as possible, telling his followers: "Your support is amazing—it empowers me, the government, the IDF.
"We’re doing things I can’t share now, but very strong operations in Iran & Lebanon today too.
"To everyone, keep following Home Front Command orders at all times. Even heads of state—star always near a protected room.
"We’ll do our best." He also joked: "Thanks for the coffee. I don’t know about calories. this looks dangerous for me."
Once it had emerged that Netanyahu was alive, experts explained that the widely shared screenshot from the press conference had been frozen in a way that appeared to show an additional finger.
A closer look at the leader’s raised hand shows he had just four fingers and a thumb – in line with the vast majority of people.
It comes as Iran denied its own new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei may have been killed after Donald Trump claimed that he could have been.
Iran's foreign minister has said the supreme leader is alive and well following claims he was in a coma after suffering serious injuries in a suspected strike.
Abbas Araghchi wrote on his Telegram account: "The leader of the revolution is in good health and is fully managing the situation," he wrote.
It comes after Trump was pressed on the condition of Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, after US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed he was "disfigured' but alive'" on Friday, March 13.