The office of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu issued a statement today rejecting online speculation that the Israeli leader had been assassinated. The 76-year-old prime minister addressed the rumors after several commentators on social media, including Candace Owens, questioned his whereabouts following the circulation of a video clip from one of his speeches.
Earlier in the week, users on social media circulated screenshots taken from a video shared by the prime minister. Some claimed the footage showed Netanyahu with six fingers on one hand and suggested the clip may have been artificially generated or altered using artificial intelligence.
The discussion gained additional attention after conservative commentator Candace Owens posted messages online accusing officials in Washington of misleading the public about developments in Iran.
“Washington D.C is lying to the American people about what is going on in Iran,” she wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. “It is not going well.”
Owens also questioned Netanyahu’s absence from public view. “Also where is Bibi Netanyahu?” Owens wrote, using the Israeli leader’s nickname. “Why is his office releasing and deleting fake AI videos from him and why is there mass panic at the White House?”
The Prime Minister’s Office rejected the claims outright, according to a report by the state-run Anadolu News Agency.
An Anadolu correspondent asked Israeli officials about the rumors circulating online suggesting that Netanyahu had been killed.
“These are fake news; the Prime Minister is fine,” the office replied.
Owens responded to the statement with another post on social media.
“I don’t know that Bibi is dead but it is very evident there is real panic at the White House and this war is not going as planned. And with the way Trump casually lied about bombing the school girls, it’s hard to trust anything coming from this admin.”
Meanwhile, The Times of Israel reported, citing an Israeli official, that Netanyahu recently contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in order to arrange a phone conversation. The purpose of the call has not been publicly disclosed.
According to a separate report by Ynet, the Israeli leader is interested in discussing possible cooperation with Ukraine in confronting Iranian drone threats, which Ukraine has faced for several years.
At the same time, Israel’s Defense Minister Yisroel Katz said today that the war with Iran had reached what he described as a critical stage, while praising recent American strikes on targets on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export facility.
“The global and regional struggle against Iran, led by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is escalating and entering the decisive phase that will continue as long as necessary,” Katz told military top brass in a televised statement.
{Matzav.com}Israeli police have arrested a 60-year-old Yerushalayim resident suspected of committing a series of serious offenses against minors in the chareidi neighborhood of Har Nof and nearby areas over the past year.
The suspect, identified as Yitzchok Avrohom Rus Ariel Asulin, was taken into custody following an investigation into allegations that he targeted children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 16.
According to findings from the investigation, police believe the suspect followed a repeated pattern of behavior. Investigators say Asulin allegedly approached minors in his places of employment as well as in public spaces within the neighborhood. After initiating contact and gaining their trust, he is suspected of carrying out serious acts against them.
Asulin was arrested on March 4, and since then the court has approved police requests to extend his detention while investigators continue carrying out numerous investigative actions related to the case.
Police said they decided to publicize the suspect’s photograph and personal details because of concerns that additional victims may exist.
“Due to the real concern that there are additional victims who were harmed by the suspect’s pattern of behavior, it was decided to publish his photograph and personal details to the public,” police said.
Authorities urged anyone who may have been harmed by Asulin, or anyone who has information that could assist the investigation, to come forward.
Police said that anyone who may have been a victim or who possesses relevant information should report to the nearest police station or contact the emergency hotline by dialing 100.
{Matzav.com}The U.S. State Department has announced that it is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that leads to the identification or capture of senior figures in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The offer was publicized by the Rewards for Justice program, which posted the announcement on social media. The program said the IRGC is responsible for planning, coordinating, and carrying out acts of terrorism in various parts of the world.
“Got information on these Iranian terrorist leaders?” Rewards for Justice said. “Send us a tip.”
Officials asked anyone with knowledge about specific IRGC figures or related branches of the organization to submit tips through a Tor-based reporting system or via Signal.
Among the individuals listed are Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei; Ali Asghar Hejazi, deputy chief of staff in the supreme leader’s office; Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, military adviser in the same office; Ali Larijani, adviser to the supreme leader’s office and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council; Brig. Gen. Eskandar Momeni, Iran’s interior minister; and Esmail Khatib, minister of intelligence and security.
The State Department also said it is seeking information about additional figures, including the secretary of the defense council, a senior adviser to the supreme leader, the head of the military office, and the commander of the Revolutionary Guard.
“Your information could make you eligible for relocation and a reward,” Rewards for Justice Link.
The announcement added that tips can also be submitted through Signal at the number 202-702-7843.
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Israel’s Knesset is preparing for a full week of parliamentary activity, with an intensive schedule that includes approximately 15 meetings across four different committees to advance a series of bills dealing with the judicial system and the communications sector.
The legislative agenda includes several key proposals, among them a bill to split the position of the attorney general and create a separate role of general prosecutor, legislation to change the authority overseeing the Police Internal Investigations Department, and a number of initiatives aimed at reforming the broadcasting market and regulating media outlets.
Despite the ongoing war and the tense security environment, the Knesset continues to carry out routine legislative work. Alongside discussions addressing the security situation and government assistance for citizens and businesses affected by the conflict, committees and the Knesset plenum are also expected to move forward with structural legislation related to the legal system and the communications industry.
At the instruction of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, additional rooms within the Knesset building have recently been prepared as protected spaces. The move is intended to allow committee meetings to continue even under security threats and to ensure that the Knesset’s work can proceed despite the current emergency conditions.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to continue legislative activity on these issues during wartime.
“Amir Ohana and all the extremists don’t care that Israel is at war. He doesn’t care about the unity of Israel. The Knesset under his leadership will continue to discuss the most divisive and extreme laws, even under fire. While the entire country is standing together, the coalition is advancing its extremist agenda and stealing money for political purposes. They have learned nothing from the past years, and they continue to weaken Israeli society every single day. This is the most shameless and dangerous government in the history of the State of Israel.”
{Matzav.com}Hamas called on Iran Saturday to avoid launching attacks against neighboring countries after the Islamic Republic fired missiles across the region in response to the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign. Some of the strikes targeted countries such as Qatar and Turkey, both of which are also major state backers of the Palestinian terror group.
The statement from Hamas urged an end to what it described as “American-Zionist aggression” against Iran. The announcement came as Palestinian media outlets reported that at least three people in Gaza were killed by Israeli gunfire on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces said it had killed three Palestinian gunmen since Friday but did not immediately address the specific reports, and the military frequently says such incidents occur after Hamas violates ceasefire arrangements.
In its first public appeal of this kind directed at Tehran, Hamas said that, “while affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries.”
A Hamas representative told AFP that the organization has been in communication with Iranian officials regarding the matter.
“The Israeli occupation seeks to sow discord between Iran and its Arab and Islamic neighbors,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
“Hamas’s leadership has also reached out to officials in several countries, including Qatar, Turkey, and Iraq, urging them to work toward halting the American and Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, including Israel, since Israel and the United States began a bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic on February 28. The strikes were intended to weaken the regime and dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
Qatar said on Saturday that it intercepted two incoming missiles after explosions were heard in the capital, Doha, prompting authorities to evacuate certain areas. Meanwhile, Turkey reported on Friday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran was intercepted in Turkish airspace by NATO forces.
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export facility, stating that although Tehran appears interested in negotiating an end to the conflict, the conditions currently on the table remain unacceptable.
Trump said the recent American strikes had already inflicted massive destruction on the key oil terminal, declaring that the operation had “totally demolished” much of Kharg Island. At the same time, he told NBC News that additional attacks remain possible, remarking that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
Kharg Island sits roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) off Iran’s southern coastline and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. The facility is critically important to Iran’s economy, serving as the main export hub for approximately 90 percent of the country’s oil shipments.
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