Netanyahu Warns of 'Second Holocaust' if He Loses Election as AI Image Shows Nuclear Strike on Tel Aviv

Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israelis of a 'second Holocaust' if they elect a leader who cannot confront Iran. He made the warning while posting an AI-generated image of a nuclear bomb exploding over Tel Aviv, with just two days to go before the country votes.

The image, shared on his X account on Sunday, shows a giant mushroom cloud rising over the city as buildings burn beneath it. The message told voters that backing anyone other than Netanyahu could leave the country exposed to that danger.

The post landed ahead of Israel's general election on Tuesday, 27 October. It has since drawn fury from opposition leaders, caused confusion online and reportedly alarmed officials in Washington.

What Netanyahu's Post Said

The text was not entirely Netanyahu's own. It reproduced statements by right-wing political commentator Yuval Blumberg.

'The State of Israel is in real and tangible existential danger. If the Iranians acquire nuclear weapons, nothing will ever be the same again,' the post read. It dismissed the controversies surrounding the government as 'one giant smokescreen to hide the single issue that towers above everything else by a wide margin'.

The message also tied Israel's Iran policy directly to Donald Trump's time in office. It said Israel has 'another two years of Trump to finish the work in Iran', warning that 'future generations will not forgive us if we miss the historic window of opportunity'.

The post took a swipe at Netanyahu's rivals without naming them. It suggested the task could not be completed by a prime minister who 'can't pick up the phone and have a continuous, intimate conversation with Trump' or who 'can't withstand the pressure of a TV interview'.

Backlash at Home and Online

Opposition figures were quick to respond. Yair Golan, chairman of the left-wing Democrats party, wrote on X: 'Update: The Prime Minister of Israel published a picture of an atomic bomb over Tel Aviv.'

Golan also called for Netanyahu to be kept away from social media. Gadi Eisenkot, the former military chief who leads the Yashar party, labelled the prime minister 'hysterical'.

Outside Israel, the image spread quickly, and not always accurately. One widely shared X post, viewed more than 377,000 times by Sunday afternoon, claimed the city in the image was New York and urged: 'Arrest Netanyahu right NOW.'

Israeli outlets that reviewed the post identified the skyline as Tel Aviv. The mix-up shows how fast the image escaped its original election context once it reached audiences outside Israel.

A Warning at Odds With His Earlier Claims

Netanyahu spent much of the past year telling Israelis that the nuclear danger had passed. In June 2025, after Israel's 12-day war with Iran, he said: 'We have removed two immediate existential threats to us - the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles.' He also added at the time: 'I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.'

The image's impact may reach well beyond Israel's polling stations. White House officials were alarmed by the post. They reportedly fear it could cause Iranian officials to miscalculate, risking an attack and a wider escalation of the war.

At home, the post puts Iran back at the centre of a campaign also shaped by domestic rows over the government's record. It gives opponents fresh grounds to question his message, because the existential warning sits uneasily beside his earlier declarations of victory. Whether it rallies his base or pushes undecided voters away will become clearer when polls close on Tuesday.