- A viral post on X claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed in a drone strike
- The post attracted nearly a million views and thousands of interactions, spreading quickly across the platform
- Fact-checking showed the real facts, with multiple sources confirming Netanyahu’s status and his service as Prime Minister
On February 28, an X account named ReversingTrend posted: “Initial reports indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was killed by an Iranian drone strike inside his residence in Tel Aviv.”
The post quickly gained traction, recording 954,000 views, 1,100 retweets, and 7,700 likes.
Source: Getty Images
Factcheck Africa tool confirmed that the claim was false. Multiple reliable sources confirmed that Benjamin Netanyahu was alive and continued to serve as the Prime Minister of Israel.
See the X post below:
Further checks by Legit Nigeria showed that his profile entry on Israel’s official wesbite listed his birthdate and current position with no mention of his death. The International Criminal Court (ICC) page also confirmed his status, noting that an arrest warrant was issued against him on November 21, 2024. The existence of this warrant implied that he was alive and subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
Netanyahu remains Prime Minister of Israel
The evidence showed that Benjamin Netanyahu had not been killed in a drone strike. He remained in office as Prime Minister of Israel, and no credible reports supported the claim of his death.
The viral post was therefore misleading, spreading false information about a sitting world leader.
Verdict: False – Benjamin Netanyahu was not killed in a drone strike. He was alive and serving as Prime Minister of Israel at the time of the claim.
Who is Benjamin Netanyahu?
According to Israel government, Benjamin Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv and grew up in Jerusalem. His high school years were spent in the United States, where his father, the historian Benzion Netanyahu, taught and conducted historical research. Returning to Israel in 1967, Mr. Netanyahu enlisted in the IDF and served as a soldier and officer in Sayeret Matkal, a special unit of the Israeli army. He took part in several operations, including the rescue of hostages in a hijacked Sabena airplane in 1972. In the same year, he was cited for outstanding operational command by General Mordechai Gur, Chief of Israel’s Northern Command. After his discharge from the IDF in 1972, Mr. Netanyahu served in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and was promoted after the war to the rank of captain in the Reserves.
Netanyahu received a B.Sc. degree in Architecture and an M.Sc. in Business Management from MIT. He also studied political science at MIT and at Harvard University.
Business Experience Between 1976 and 1982 Mr. Netanyahu worked in the private sector, first with the Boston Consulting Group, an international business consultancy, and then as Marketing Director of Rim Industries in Jerusalem, an industrialized furniture manufacturer.
Last X post of supreme leader Ali Khemenie of Iran emerges
Legit.ng earlier reported that hours before Iran’s state television confirmed the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the cleric had been killed.
According to IndiaTimes, Trump described Khamenei as “one of the most evil people in history” and said he was tracked using “highly sophisticated tracking systems.” He called the strike “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.”
Source: Legit.ng
