'Israel is in existential danger,' Netanyahu shares AI image of nuclear blast over Tel Aviv ahead of elections

PM Benjamin Netanyahu shared an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion in Tel Aviv on X on Sunday, two days before the election, publishing statements made by right-wing political commentator Yuval Blumberg warning of an existential threat from Iran.

“The State of Israel is in real and tangible existential danger. If the Iranians acquire nuclear weapons, nothing will ever be the same again,” read the post. The text described controversies surrounding the government as “one giant smokescreen to hide the single issue that towers above everything else by a wide margin. If two atomic bombs fall in the center of the country, who will care about all these fake storms?"

Netanyahu argued that Israel has “another two years of Trump to finish the work in Iran,” and that “future generations will not forgive us if we miss the historic window of opportunity.” The post also said the mission would not be completed by a prime minister who “can’t pick up the phone and have a continuous, intimate conversation with Trump” or “can’t withstand the pressure of a TV interview.”

Critics have recently accused Netanyahu of pushing to renew the war against Iran to influence or delay the October 27 vote, a charge he has denied. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly said during a recent private meeting that he saw no operational need to strike Iran before the election.

Yashar Party chairman Gadi Eisenkot responded on X. “Netanyahu, you’re in a hysteria,” he wrote. “Like in every election campaign, the same old method of lies and scare tactics again. This time, threatening Israeli citizens with mass destruction. And this after you failed to achieve the war’s objectives against Iran.”

“From promises of total victory, you’ve shifted to ‘we won’t surrender.’ That’s the whole story,” Eisenkot said. “You’ve failed. And in two days, the people of Israel will show you that at the ballot box. We will form the next government and lead Israel to security and prosperity.”

Democrats chairman Yair Golan also responded on X. “Update: The Prime Minister of Israel published a picture of an atomic bomb over Tel Aviv,” he wrote. “I request to keep him away from the social networks. The man and his surroundings have lost it. The pressure is mounting.”

“On Tuesday we will replace the sowers of panic and return to Israel the security and sanity,” Golan added.