The drone attack launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Oct. 19 targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea scored a direct hit on the home, the military censor cleared for publication on Tuesday.
Following the attempted assassination, security measures for government ministers and other officials have been “significantly” reinforced.
“Iran tried to eliminate the prime minister of Israel. It will not escape responsibility,” a senior Israeli government official told Ynet.
According to reports, the assault included three drones, one of which scored a direct hit on a bedroom window at the Caesarea residence. Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were not home at the time.
“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” the prime minister said in a statement on Saturday. “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: Anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price,” Netanyahu warned.
Hezbollah media chief Mohammed Afif during a press conference in Beirut on Tuesday declared the Iranian-backed terrorist organization’s “full, complete and exclusive responsibility for the Caesarea operation.”
The Lebanese terrorist spokesman also warned, “If we did not reach you this time, then we will reach you the next time. Between us lie the days, nights and the battlefield.”
The Saudi state-owned Al-Hadath television news channel reported earlier on Tuesday that diplomatic officials at the Iranian embassy in Lebanon were directly involved in the attempt on Netanyahu’s life.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday that he was relieved Netanyahu was “safe after the attack that reportedly targeted his home in Caesarea this morning,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said on Saturday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, former President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also condemned the attack on Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Monday.
