Netanyahu shares AI image of nuclear blast over Tel Aviv two days before election

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shared an image, generated with artificial intelligence, of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv two days before the election.

Warning of the Iranian nuclear threat, Prime Minister Netanyahu posted on social media an image showing a giant cloud from a nuclear blast rising over a densely populated city like Tel Aviv.

The image was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Opposition leaders have accused him of spreading fear in his election campaign.

According to the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu shared the image on his official Instagram account on Sunday, 25 October. Elections are due in Israel on 27 October.

Text of the post

In his message with the image, Netanyahu said Israel faces existential threats from Iran and its allied groups, and that the situation regarding the country’s security has become more dangerous. He wrote that it was astonishing that nothing had changed, and that, because of the existential threat from Iran and its allies, conditions had become more dangerous than before.

The Israeli prime minister further said that new developments and the facts that had emerged required people to set their differences aside and focus on the most important matter, namely ending the operation in Iran. Netanyahu’s post did not clearly identify the location in the image, but the scene appeared similar to the city of Tel Aviv.

Opposition response

Opposition leader Yair Golan wrote on the social media platform X that the Israeli prime minister had published an image of an atom bomb falling on Tel Aviv and should be kept away from social media. He added that pressure was growing on the prime minister and his close associates, and that they appeared to be losing control. According to him, in the elections to be held on Tuesday, those who spread fear would be replaced and security and normal conditions would be restored in Israel.

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot also accused Netanyahu of spreading fear during the election campaign. In his statement, he said Netanyahu was once again adopting an election strategy based on fear, and that this method of spreading lies and fear was used at every election.

Eisenkot also accused Netanyahu of failing to achieve the aims of the war against Iran, and said the Israeli people would give their verdict by vote in two days.