Has Iddo Netanyahu, brother of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, been killed in Iranian airstrikes? – Firstpost

Has Iddo Netanyahu, brother of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, been killed in Iranian airstrikes? – Firstpost

Fact-check: Did Iranian airstrikes kill Israeli PM's brother?
FP ExplainersMarch 10, 2026, 12:21:04 IST

Social media is abuzz with claims that Iranian airstrikes killed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother, Iddo. Additionally, there are rumours that the country’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been severely injured in an attack. Here’s the truth


Several posts on social media are claiming that Iddo Netanyahu, the brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been killed in Iranian attacks. Image courtesy: @ricwe123/X




The conflict is in full swing in West Asia, with more than 1,200 casualties reported in Iran and 13 in Israel. A situation like this can be the breeding ground for misinformation online. Unverified information is often circulated widely across social media platforms.

One such claim alleges that Iddo Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother, has been killed while Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, has been injured in an Iranian air strike in Tel Aviv.
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Here is the truth behind the claims.
What do viral posts claim?

Several social media accounts have been claiming that an Iranian air strike has claimed the life of Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother, Iddo, along with injuring Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.


The reports further claim that Ben-Givir was injured after his house allegedly caught fire. Some of the accounts went on to claim that the Israeli authorities are trying to cover up the incident. There have been other posts going around that the Israeli media falsely reported that Ben-Gvir was involved in a car accident in order to conceal injuries sustained during the purported strike.
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In a post shared on the social media platform X, the user wrote, “Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother Iddo Netanyahu has lost his life after Iranian missile strikes on Netanyahu’s family home.” It further read, “Apparently the Iranians now have this family squarely in their crosshairs…” The post garnered more than three million views.



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Commenting on the post, a user wrote, “If true, this would mark a dangerous new escalation. Targeting family homes pushes conflicts into an even darker territory and risks widening the cycle of retaliation. Moments like this remind us how quickly regional tensions can spiral and how devastating the human cost of war can become.”
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Are Iddo and Ben-Gvir dead?

There have been no reports or official confirmation that Itamar Ben-Gvir’s residence in Tel Aviv was targeted in an air strike. According to media reports, the viral clip showing the house on fire was uploaded online weeks before the war broke out in West Asia.

According to Y_ahoo!news_, the clip was recorded in New Jersey, not in West Asia. There have been no credible news reports indicating that Iddo Netanyahu has been harmed in any fire. According to a news report, the video belonged to an “Atlantic County FireFighters’ Association Photographer.”

A Google Maps image taken around half a year before the fire shows the house with the same triangular-shaped roof features seen in the video examined in this article.
Who are Iddo Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir?

Born in 1952, Iddo Netanyahu is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother. Iddo is a radiologist and trained physician. He earned his MD from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed his post-doctoral training at Georgetown University Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Besides a career in medicine, he is known for his plays, essays, and books. Iddo is the author of several books, namely, Entebbe: The Jonathan Netanyahu Story and _Yoni’s Last Battl_e, among others. Netanyahu Jr also served in the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit from 1970 to 1973.

Meanwhile, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who serves as the Minister of National Security, is an Israeli lawyer and a far-right politician. He wa born in Mevaseret Zion to a Mizrahi Jewish family of Iraqi heritage.
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Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks during the funeral of Israeli hostage Ran Gvili, an off-duty police officer who was killed fighting militants that had infiltrated Israel. File image/Reuters

Ben-Gvir is an ideological successor to Meir Kahane, whose militant Kach movement was outlawed in Israel as a terrorist organisation. He first gained national attention in 1995 when he appeared on television with a hood ornament stolen from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car, declaring, “Just as we got to this emblem, we can get to Rabin”.

Ben-Gvir resigned from his ministerial post in January 2025 to protest a Gaza ceasefire deal but was reappointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March 2025 after hostilities resumed.

With inputs from agencies

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Benjamin NetanyahuIran Israel WarIsrael