Israel says drone launched toward Netanyahu’s home from Lebanon

by Filip Timotija - 10/19/24 8:08 AM ET

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Saturday that a drone was launched from Lebanon toward Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea.

Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time of the incident and no casualties were reported, according to The Associated Press (AP).

“A UAV was launched towards the prime minister’s residence in Caesarea,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “The prime minister and his wife were not at the location and there were no injuries in the incident.”

The attack on Netanyahu’s home comes less than a week after a Hezbollah drone attacked an Israeli military base where four soldiers were killed, AP reported. The Israeli military intercepted two more drones on Saturday, according to The New York Times.

Air raid sirens were going off at a military base in Glilot, but they were not blasting in Caesarea. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the instance was “under review.”

The drone attack comes just days after the Israeli military took out the Palestinian militant group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The initial attack, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, left around 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 250 people were taken hostage. Following the cross-border attack, Israel’s subsequent strikes have killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, a tally that does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Sinwar was killed during the Israeli military’s operation in Gaza on Thursday. He was the IDF’s top target who was surviving in underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

After confirming the death of their leader, Hamas said the move would only increase the resolve of the militant group. A senior leader also seemingly closed the door on cease-fire negotiations.

The official said no Israeli hostages will be returned “before the end of the aggression on Gaza” and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu also said the war is “not over yet,” in the wake of Sinwar’s death.