A drone has struck Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s holiday home in Caesarea, northern Israel, leading to widespread air raid sirens being activated across the country, including in major urban areas like Tel Aviv. Al Jazeera has confirmed the incident.
According to Netanyahu’s spokesperson, one of three drones launched from Lebanon successfully hit the prime minister’s residence on Saturday. Fortunately, Netanyahu was not present at the time, and there were no reported injuries. The Israeli military stated that the other two drones were intercepted. In total, over 100 rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, resulting in injuries to at least 13 individuals.
The Iranian-aligned group Hezbollah has been engaged in ongoing exchanges of fire with Israel since October of last year. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman due to the network’s ban in Israel, indicated that Israeli authorities are treating the drone strike on Netanyahu’s home as a serious security breach, potentially an “assassination attempt.”
“While there is no definitive proof that this was an assassination attempt, the gravity with which the Israeli security establishment is viewing this incident is evident,” Odeh noted. “The fact that a drone managed to go undetected 70 kilometers from the Lebanese border, striking its target without triggering any sirens, has raised significant alarm within Israel.”
Odeh further explained that a coordinated barrage of rockets from Lebanon was likely used as a diversion to facilitate the drone attack on Netanyahu’s residence. Sirens were activated across northern Israel, particularly in cities such as Galilee and Haifa, which is considered a strategic port city and the home of Israel’s naval headquarters.
“The sirens began to sound just after confirmation that a drone had successfully targeted the prime minister’s house in Caesarea,” Odeh reported.
This incident marks a significant escalation in the already tense situation between Israel and Hezbollah, highlighting growing security concerns for the Israeli leadership.
