Drone Strikes Netanyahu Home as Lebanon Rockets Kill 1, Injure 13 in Israel
Innumerable rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon apart from a drone strike in the former, led by Netanyahu, resulting in the death of a person and injuring 13 others. Whereas Caesarea situated in the northern part of the country, the holiday residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was hit by a drone strike. The attack was instrumental in triggering the air raid sirens at different parts of Israel and its capital Tel Aviv as per the Qatar-based news channel, Al Jazeera.
While confirming the news, the spokesperson added further that three drones were fired from Lebanon which struck Netanyahu`s holiday home. However, the Prime Minister was absent at that moment. No casualties were reported from the site. The military forces further detained two other drones while the northern area of Israel was hit by over 100 rockets. Launched from Lebanon, they caused several casualties in the area.
A possible assassination attempt on Netanyahu?
Nour Odeh, an Al Jazeera reporter mentioned that the authorities from Israel are seeing this drone strike on Netanyahu’s residence as a potential assassination attempt on him. However, she was quick to add that the claims are unverified as to whether the attack was a personal assassination attempt on Prime Minister Netanyahu or just like any other routine one. Nour was reporting from Amman, the capital city of Jordan, as the channel has been banned by Israel in its territory from working there. The suspicion about the channel being biased and its agenda-based reporting, besides being instrumental in favoring its enemies has led to the extreme step from the authorities.
The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 19, 2024
This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing our just war against our enemies in order to secure our future.
I say to Iran and its proxies in its axis of evil:…
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group, has been continuously engaged in fierce attacks and cross-border exchanges with Israeli forces. However, an area of grave concern for the Israeli authorities is the drone which managed to fly deep and undetected near Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, attacking the territory from the Lebanese side and that too without any sirens being sounded.
The rocket attack is a distraction?
The news reporter also mentioned that the barrage of rocket attacks from the Lebanese side was in fact a deliberate distraction, serving to facilitate the drone attack, which seems to have been the main purpose. Sirens were activated across northern Israel, including in the cities of Galilee and Haifa, with Haifa being an important port city and naval headquarters.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that on Saturday, the Israeli airstrikes shook Lebanon, which was possibly a retaliation attack. The Lebanese authorities reported that air attacks resulted in four people being killed and another 13 being injured as a result of the strike on an apartment building in the town of Baaloul, situated in the western Bekaa region. The air attacks were also reported in southern Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, immediately after Israel ordered an evacuation order for the residents.
Footage from AFP showed smoke rising over Beirut’s southern suburbs. The Lebanese National News Agency confirmed that two Israeli airstrikes targeted a building in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, followed by further strikes in the Al-Umara neighborhood in nearby Choueifat.
Warning from Israeli Military
In a statement, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned residents of these areas, particularly those living near Hezbollah facilities, of impending military operations. He specifically mentioned the Haret Hreik neighborhood and later expanded the warnings to Burj al-Barajneh and Choueifat.
The latest attack from Israel is in continuation of the air campaign starting on September 23, where both air and ground assaults were done against Lebanon. The escalation of tensions in the form of cross-border skirmishes with Lebanon began immediately after the conflict, started by Hamas, another terrorist organization from Gaza. The Health Ministry from Lebanon informed that the ongoing violence has resulted in the killing of 1,418 people since late September, however, the number is said to be on the higher side.
