Netanyahu releases video from cafe, mocks at news of his death
Jerusalem (PTI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mocked at the widespread news on social media about his death as he released a video showing him ordering a coffee at what seems to be a roadside mini market.
Speculations have been rife over the social media for about a week questioning his absence from the public space even as rumour increased after a video surfaced apparently showing Netanyahu with six fingers against the backdrop of the US-Israel joint attack on Iran since February 28 and the retaliation by the Islamic nation that has extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
On Sunday, Netanyahu posted the video on his personal X handle, where he is heard saying, “Great (he tells the seller giving him coffee), Thanks.”
“What did you ask me?” he is seen asking the videographer.
When told that there are channels saying he is dead, Netanyahu mocks, “I am dying for coffee.”
“You know what, I am crazy (interchangeable with dying, the word in Hebrew) about my people. They are behaving (conducting) in a fantastic way. You want to count the number of fingers. You can show us, here (raising left hand), here (raising right hand). You saw!” the Israeli prime minister said.
The video comes as an apparent dig at some news reports speculating that he is dead, posting a video where it seems that his left hand has six fingers, and hence doctored.
Raising the coffee, Netanyahu further says in the video, “lechaim (to life).”
Asked if he wants to give a message to people looking to go out, the premier cautions that they can go out for some fresh air but should be near protected shelters.
“The way you (Israelis) have stood by is wonderful. It gives me strength, to the government, to the army, to the Mossad and we are doing things that I cannot share at the moment but we are doing things. We are hitting Iran, even today, very hard,” Netanyahu said.
“We are also continuing in Lebanon. You all are telling me to continue, I am telling you all also to continue. Continue to listen to the Home Front Command all the time and also the Mayors to remain always close to the shelters,” the Israeli prime minister stressed.
Netanyahu's video comes when earlier in the day, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said they will hunt down the Israeli prime minister.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
