News Brief

Drone Launched From Lebanon Targets Israeli PM Netanyahu’s House, No Injuries Reported

Kuldeep Negi

Oct 19, 2024, 03:02 PM | Updated 03:02 PM IST


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A drone targeted the private residence of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli town of Caesarea, shortly after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Netanyahu's spokesperson confirmed that the Israeli Prime Minister was not near the scene during the drone attack.

"A UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was launched toward the prime minister's residence in Caesarea. The prime minister and his wife were not at the location, and there were no injuries in the incident," the Israeli Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

The Israeli military had earlier said that the drone was launched from Lebanon and it had hit a building.

Two additional drones were intercepted as they crossed into Israeli airspace.

No immediate claim of responsibility for the drone attack was made by Hezbollah, which has been in conflict with Israel since last October, or by any other group.

In addition to the ongoing war with Hamas, Israel is also engaged in conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Since the 7 October attack, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged rocket fire, and Tel Aviv deployed ground troops across the Lebanese border last month.

The drone incident follows an Israeli military airstrike that reportedly destroyed Hezbollah's regional command centre.

As of late September, at least 1,418 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to Lebanese health ministry data, though the actual toll is expected to be higher.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is expected to escalate following the killing of Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli operation in southern Gaza.

Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October attacks that left over 1,200 Israelis dead and saw more than 250 hostages taken to Gaza, became the leader of Hamas after Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in July.

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Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.


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