After wedding was canceled due to Iran war, Avner Netanyahu calls off his engagement

Avner Netanyahu, the youngest son of the prime minister, has reportedly called off his wedding, three months after it was postponed, for the second time, due to the Israel-Iran war.

According to Hebrew media reports on Thursday, Netanyahu, 30, has officially ended his engagement to Amit Yardeni, after two years together. The Ynet news site cited sources close to the couple as saying that Avner “needs time to think” and has moved out of their shared apartment into his own accommodations.

The couple, who got engaged in mid-2024, had originally planned to wed in November last year, but pushed off the celebrations due to concerns that it could be targeted amid the multifront war and drone threat, after a Hezbollah drone hit one of the prime minister’s private residences while he wasn’t at home.

The couple rescheduled their wedding for June 16, 2025. But two days earlier, Israel launched a surprise attack on nuclear and military targets in Iran, leading to the 12-day exchange of missiles. The nuptials were once again canceled as Home Front Command restrictions barred all gatherings around the country.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced criticism from many during the war when he said that “each of us bears a personal cost, and my family has not been exempt,” pointing to the cancellation.

In April, the couple held a lavish henna party, a traditional pre-wedding ceremony common among Jews of Moroccan ancestry like Yardeni.

The wedding had already been the source of controversy, with anti-government activists planning to hold nearby demonstrations — a move which sparked a heated debate among the Israeli public.

Iron roadblocks and barbed wire fences were erected near the wedding venue days before the nuptials were slated to take place, and the airspace was slated to be closed except for police helicopters, amid major security fears.

Netanyahu was previously engaged to Noy Bar, but the couple ended their three-year relationship in 2022.

The prime minister’s youngest son has kept a relatively low profile, unlike his older brother, Yair, who is known for a multitude of controversial public statements and social media posts and has been embroiled in a number of lawsuits. Yair has spent much of the past three years living in Miami, Florida.

The brothers also have an older sister, Noa Netanyahu-Roth, from their father’s first marriage. An ultra-Orthodox married mother of five, Noa never makes public appearances with her father.