Israeli Journalist Gets Death Threats After Reporting Missile Strike

A 28-year-old Israeli journalist is facing death threats after reporting that an Iranian missile had struck an open area near a Jerusalem suburb. Emanuel Fabian's brief post triggered controversy on Polymarket, a prediction market where users wagered millions on whether a missile would hit Israel on March 10. According to The Washington Post, the early bets had hinged on Fabian's reporting.

“You have 90 minutes left to update the lie. If you do this — you solve in a minute the most serious problem you have caused yourself in life. And you won't remember me anymore in a week,” read one of the threatening messages Fabian received via WhatsApp, reviewed by the outlet.

The threats unsettled Fabian, who said he briefly considered revising his blog post. But he later decided to stand by his reporting, alert law enforcement, and write an article for the Times of Israel detailing his experience to make sure “anyone thinking of threatening a journalist might think twice.”

Polymarket Response

Polymarket condemned the harassment. “Polymarket condemns the harassment & threats directed at Emanuel Fabian — or anyone else for that matter. This behaviour violates our Terms of Service & has no place on our platform. We've banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities,” the company said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Polymarket condemns the harassment & threats directed at Emanuel Fabian — or anyone else for that matter.

This behavior violates our Terms of Service & has no place on our platform. We've banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities.

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) March 16, 2026

Reporting The Missile Strike

On March 10, sirens alerted residents across Jerusalem and the West Bank of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran. Fabian contacted authorities to verify it and soon published a brief post about a strike near Beit Shemesh, roughly 20 miles west of Jerusalem.

He also shared a dashcam video that showed a fiery explosion in a forested area close to a residential complex.

No injuries are reported in Iran's latest ballistic missile attack on Israel, the fourth today.

One missile struck an open area just outside Beit Shemesh, first responders say and footage shows.

Sirens had sounded across the Jerusalem area, the West Bank, and parts of southern… pic.twitter.com/j6sovAsDwz

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 10, 2026

Bettors And The Threats

After posting about the missile strike, Polymarket users were disputing whether the strike counted under the platform's rules. More than $7 million was wagered in follow-up bets, with some standing to win over $1 million, the report noted.

Fabian received several messages asking him to change or update his report. At first, they were polite, but soon they became threatening, which worried him, he said.

Despite the intimidation, Fabian refused to alter his account. He reported the threats to the police and worked with his editor to write a first-person story detailing the experience.