Real or deepfake? Netanyahu mocks death rumours with Kirya war room video after wiping out Iran's top 'terror chieftains'

As the "Netanyahu is dead" conspiracy hits a fever pitch on Day 19 of the war, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has emerged from the high-security 'Kirya' command centre with a chilling warning for Tehran. Flanked by the heads of Mossad and the Air Force, Netanyahu confirmed the killing of two "terrorist chieftains" — Iran's security chief Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani — marking the highest-level eliminations since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. By mocking the "AI deepfake" rumours and wishing Iranians a "Happy Nowruz" from the war room, Netanyahu has turned a holiday greeting into a psychological masterclass in "Watching from Above."

Despite an explicit statement from Netanyahu's office that "the PM is fine" and that the rumours of his death are "fake," speculation about the Israeli leader's death continue to swirl, and this latest video has done little to quash them. All you need to know.

In the latest video shared by the Israeli PM office on X, Netanyahu can be seen sitting amid a bunch of officials in an office space, explicitly identified as the Air Force command centre at The Kirya, an area in central Tel Aviv. Watch the video here.

"I'm here with Israel's Defense Minister, our Chief of Staff, the head of the Mossad, the Chief of Air Force, our senior commanders," Netanyahu says at the beginning of the video.

"In the past 24 hours, we knocked out two of the terrorist chieftains, the top terrorist chieftains of this tyranny," he adds. While Netanyahu does not mention names, this is an apparent reference to Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, two senior Iranian leaders whose death in an Israeli strike has now been confirmed by Tehran.

Extending greetings to the people of Iran on the holiday season, he adds, "Our aircraft are hitting the terror operatives on the ground, in the crossroads, in the city squares. This is meant to enable the brave people of Iran to celebrate the Festival of Fire."

"So celebrate and Happy Nowruz. We're watching from above."

The latest video does little to dispel rumours of Netanyahu's death; instead, now more than ever, people seem to be convinced that the Israeli PM has been killed. Comments on the post range from people making fun of Israel for allegedly posting an AI video to them listing what's wrong with the clip.

"This is an obvious AI-Generated video," commented one X user, pointing to several alleged visual inconsistencies. They claim that the lighting reflections do not match. "There’s round can lights in the room, but rectangular light fixtures in the window reflection. Also, two of the light reflections extend over the window frames."

The user also highlighted irregularities on the desk, saying "video/speaker phones on the desk all look different" suggesting a lack of uniformity typical in real setups.

They further pointed to structural flaws in the room’s design, claiming "AI attempted to draw as a door hinge on the front edge of the door frame instead of at the door," adding that it appears on the same side as the doorknob.

Additionally, other users flagged inconsistencies in the desk itself, noting that “the wooden panels and ventilation grilles across the front are all different widths and sizes,” reinforcing their claim that the video was artificially generated.

Meanwhile, others turned to AI detectors and posted receipts. The screenshots shared by X users point out that seated on Netanyahu's right is Yoav Gallant, the former Minister of Defense of Israel, who is no longer part of the Israeli PM's cabinet. The current Israeli Defence Minister is Israel Katz, who was appointed in November 2024, shortly after Gallant's dismissal over a “crisis of trust”.

As Netanyahu death rumours swirl amid war, Israel has made multiple attempts to debunk ‘AI’ claims and prove that the Israeli PM is alive. Since the war began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s absence from public view has repeatedly fuelled speculation about his fate, with Iranian media amplifying claims that he had been killed.

On March 2, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted Netanyahu’s office, triggering fresh rumours, including claims that he had fled to Germany. A day later, Netanyahu appeared in an interview with Fox News, but the brief appearance did little to fully quell the speculation.

Questions resurfaced as he again remained out of sight for days.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.

On March 13, Netanyahu addressed the public via video link, similar to his approach during the 2025 conflict. However, the video itself became the subject of scrutiny, with social media users claiming it was AI-generated and pointing to a frame that appeared to show him with six fingers.

In an apparent attempt to counter the rumours, Netanyahu posted another video on March 15 from a coffee shop in the Jerusalem Hills. In the clip, he joked in Hebrew about being “dead… for coffee” and showed both hands to the camera, counting five fingers on each. Yet, despite these efforts, speculation about his status has continued to circulate online.