Israel hits Hezbollah's arms facility in Beirut, Gaza after drone attack on Benjamin Netanyahu's house
Israel Saturday claimed to hit the arms facilities of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Beirut and "Hamas terror target" in Gaza in a retaliatory action against a drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence.
Smokes were seen rising from a densely populated location in Beirut's southern suburb as a fresh airstrike hit the area.
Smoke is rising from a location in southern suburb of Beirut as a fresh airstrike hit the area
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) October 19, 2024
It happened less than an hour after the new evacuation order by Israeli army to residents of that neighbourhood
Video: Me pic.twitter.com/SjO5CZ8NAl
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hezbollah following the alleged assassination attempt targeting him and his wife, calling it a "grave mistake" and vowing that anyone threatening Israeli citizens would face severe consequences.
The Israeli PM and his wife were not home at the time of the attack and there were no injuries.
Netanyahu’s warning came in response to a drone attack launched towards his residence in Caesarea. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, he described Hezbollah as "Iran's proxy" and stated that the assassination attempt would not deter him or Israel from continuing their fight against the nation's enemies.
"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," Netanyahu wrote.
Addressing Iran and the 'Axis of Resistance'—which includes Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen's Houthis—Netanyahu emphasized that Israel is committed to achieving its war objectives and reshaping the region’s security landscape for the long term.
"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. We will continue to eliminate the terrorists and those who dispatch them; we will bring our hostages home from Gaza; and we will return our citizens who live on our northern border safely to their homes. Israel is determined to achieve all our war objectives and change the security reality in our region for generations to come," he said.
The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 19, 2024
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:…
On Saturday, a drone was launched towards Netanyahu’s residence a day after Hamas confirmed the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, in an Israeli attack on Gaza.
"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," his office said in a statement.
The Israeli military reported that three drones had been fired from Lebanon on the same day, with two of them intercepted. No group, including Hezbollah, has claimed responsibility for the drone attack.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 250 taken hostage, was killed on Wednesday. He took over as Hamas chief after the assassination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran.