Israel says drone from Lebanon hits town
The Israeli army is saying a drone launched from Lebanon struck the northern Israeli town of Caesarea where PM Netanyahu also has a residence.
The drone “hit a structure in the area of Caesarea” without causing any casualties, the military said, without elaborating. It added that two other drones were intercepted. Israeli media is reporting the deployment of war planes and helicopters in Caesarea, located north of Tel Aviv.
Israeli army says drone hit Netanyahu’s home
A drone launched from Lebanon hit Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv, according to his spokesperson. Netanyahu and his family were not in Caesarea at the time of the attack, the statement said, adding that there were no casualties.
Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli army have shared these updates:
- The drone was launched from Lebanon and directly hit the PM’s house in Caesarea.
- Police arrived to locate the scene of the attack. At about the same time, sirens sounded in Tel Aviv.
- Two other drones launched at the same time were reportedly intercepted.
- The incident triggered alarms in the Glilot military base, but the military later determined that drones were not in that area.
- The drone flew 70km from Lebanon.
Caesarea hosts strategic assets, politicians and businesspeople
We have seen videos posted by the residents in Caesarea on the drone attack on Netanyahu’s residence. The house was struck in the attack. Neither Netanyahu nor his family were present at the time of the incident.
The Israeli military has imposed a very tight censor and restrictions on the Israeli media and has also sealed off the area.
Businesspeople and politicians live in the area, where a lot of power and strategic assets are concentrated, including military bases and oil refineries.
No warning sirens went off in Caesarea, while they did in the neighbouring areas, such as Haifa. Hezbollah uses the tactic of launching drones and rockets together at different targets to evade detection.
Caesarea drone attack a ‘serious security failure’
Israeli security services see the drone attack in Caesarea as a very serious security failure and an investigation has been launched into the security breaches, an Israeli security source was quoted as saying by Israeli Army Radio.
Netanyahu promises to win war after drone attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that “nothing will deter” him, claiming that his country is “going to win this war”.
In videos shared on social media, he called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who the army killed earlier in the week, “the terrorist mastermind whose goons beheaded our men, raped our women and burned babies alive”.
A forensic analysis of the events of October 7 found that claims of atrocities, such as the mass killing and beheading of babies as well as allegations of widespread and systematic rape, were false.
“We took him out,” the prime minister said, adding: “We’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies.”
