Hezbollah said Friday it planned to send more guided missiles and exploding drones into Israel
drone targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu House
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s government said a drone targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house Saturday, with no casualties, as fighting with Hezbollah and Hamas showed no pause after the killing of the Hamas mastermind of last year’s October 7 attack.
Israel’s military said dozens of projectiles were launched from Lebanon a day after Hezbollah announced a new phase in fighting. Netanyahu’s office said the drone targeted his house in the Mediterranean coastal town of Caesarea. Neither he nor his wife were there. It wasn’t clear if the house was hit.
“The proxies of Iran who today tried to assassinate me and my wife made a bitter mistake,” Netanyahu said.
The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake.
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:…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 19, 2024
Hezbollah didn’t claim responsibility for the drone attack, but said it carried out several rocket attacks on northern and central Israel. The barrage came as Israel is expected to respond to an attack earlier this month by Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas.
Israel in turn carried out at least 10 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, a heavily populated area home to Hezbollah’s offices, Lebanese authorities said. Israel’s military said it struck Hezbollah targets.
Barrages from Lebanon target northern Israel
The Israel-Hezbollah war has intensified. Hezbollah said Friday it planned to send more guided missiles and exploding drones into Israel. The terrorist group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September, and Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon early this month.
Israel’s military on Saturday said about 180 projectiles were fired from Lebanon. A 50-year-old man was hit by shrapnel and killed in northern Israel, and four other people were wounded, Israel’s medical services said. In the northern city of Kiryat Ata, one rocket landed. Itzik Billet, commander for the Haifa area, said nine people were slightly injured.
Israel has issued near-daily warnings for people to leave buildings and villages in parts of Lebanon.
Israel also said it killed Hezbollah’s deputy commander in the southern town of Bint Jbeil. The army said Nasser Rashid supervised attacks against Israel.
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Associated Press writers Jack Jeffery in Ramallah, West Bank, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
