Viral image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resting in a shelter amid US-Israel war with Iran

RATING JUSTIFICATION

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a forensic analysis of the image to assess its authenticity.

Multiple users shared a picture on social media platform X on March 25, 2026, allegedly showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resting in a shelter amid the country’s war with Israel. However, the photo is AI-generated.

The conflict began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure, including missile systems and nuclear-related facilities. The strikes marked a significant escalation in tensions between the countries, following a period of heightened regional instability and previous confrontations.

Iran responded by launching missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, US military bases, and other locations in the region. Several senior Iranian officials have been killed in targeted strikes, including national security chief Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani on March 17, 2026.

One of the biggest pieces of misinformation currently doing the rounds are reports of the supposed death of Netanyahu. Over the past few days, a number of videos have surfaced, leading many to believe that Netanyahu had, in fact, perished.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 25, a pro-Palestinian user shared a picture on X, allegedly showing Netanyahu resting in a shelter with the following caption: “Leaked photo of Netanyahu in the shelters.”

The post garnered a million views.

Another person also shared the same picture with the following caption: “Intelligence information … Netanyahu owns a fortified underground bunker in one of the Arab countries.!! Where do you expect?”

The post gained 139,180 views.

Local Turkish media outlet RTEUrdu shared the same photo with a similar caption, gaining 28,300 views.

The video was subsequently shared widely by other X users too, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively gaining 23,708 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the recent absence of the Israeli prime minister.

Visual analysis of the viral image revealed several discrepancies, including inconsistent lighting, anatomical irregularities in the subject’s hands, and distorted Hebrew text on the cups and snack packets.

Analysing the image using SynthID indicated that the visual had been edited or generated using Google AI tools.

In addition to this, a detailed visual analysis of the image revealed several inconsistencies commonly associated with AI-generated content.

According to SynthID, the lighting on the subject’s face and arms appeared inconsistent with the surrounding environment, while distortions were observed in the background elements. Furthermore, the text on items in the foreground, such as snack packaging and cups, appeared garbled and unnatural, which is a typical indicator of AI manipulation.

Analysing the image through Image Whisperer resulted in highlighting mixed signals but ultimately concluding that it was likely synthetic, identifying multiple inconsistencies, all of which were consistent with AI-generated imagery.

Furthermore, a reverse image search to corroborate whether the image was shared or reported by any credible international or Israeli media outlets yielded no results.

FACT-CHECK STATUS

The claim that a viral image shows Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu resting in a shelter is false.

The image is AI-generated.