Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not be dissuaded from his war aims following a drone attack on his private residence, warning that “anyone who tries to harm the citizens of Israel will pay a heavy price.”
“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” he wrote in a post on the X website.
His office previously said that a drone was “launched towards” his residence in the northern coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday morning.
Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time, and no one was injured.
Iran says Hezbollah was behind the reported attack, IRNA reported.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations was quoted as saying: “The action in question was carried out by Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah, which is funded and equipped by Iran, did not comment on these reports.
The reported attack comes as Israel prepares to respond to Iran’s massive ballistic missile attack on October 1 – with Israel’s defense minister saying its response will be “lethal, precise and surprising.”
The Israeli army said that three drones were launched from Lebanon, one of which hit a building in Caesarea.
They did not confirm whether the building was part of the Prime Minister’s residence, nor the extent of the damage to it.
The American website Axios reported that the drone hit the house and was launched by Hezbollah.
At 08:19 local time (06:19 GMT), the Israeli army said: “In the last hour, three drones crossed into the country from Lebanon.
“Two planes were intercepted. Another plane hit a building in Caesarea. There were no casualties.”
The Israeli Prime Minister uses two private homes, in Caesarea and Jerusalem, and has also spent time at Beit Agion, his official residence in Jerusalem, which is currently being renovated.
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