Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s beachfront home was damaged in a drone strike claimed by Hezbollah, geolocated video footage shows. CNN in an attack that penetrated deep into Israel, even as the Lebanese armed group recovers from continued bombardment of Israel.
Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time of the attack last Saturday in the coastal city of Caesarea, and no one was injured, according to Israeli officials.
But the incident has raised questions about how the drone evaded Israel’s air defenses, even after Hezbollah’s leadership was decimated and as the Israeli army intensifies attacks in areas of Lebanon.
The affiliate of CNN Kan 11 published an exterior photo of the home showing damage to a window with cracks and what appear to be blast marks. Kan 11 reported that the damaged window was from a bedroom.
“Permitted for publication: the UAV [veículo aéreo não tripulado] that Hezbollah launched and hit the prime minister’s house in Caesarea”, says the caption of the photo shared by the reporter.
A video geolocated by CNN shows the same scene from the outside window in what appears to be the house’s backyard.
The Israeli army said on Saturday that “three UAVs were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Two of the UAVs were intercepted. An additional UAV struck a structure in the Caesarea area.”
The Israeli prime minister’s spokesman confirmed the attack that day, but it was only on Tuesday that Israeli authorities admitted that the drone had struck the house.
Hezbollah took “full and sole responsibility” for the attack on Tuesday and issued a warning: “If we have not reached you yet, know that between us and you lie the days, the nights and the battlefield.”
In an X post after the attack on Saturday, Netanyahu blamed “agents of Iran” for the attack and said they “made a bitter mistake.”
“I say to the Iranians and their partners in the axis of evil: anyone who harms the citizens of the State of Israel will pay a heavy price,” Netanyahu added.
Iran has denied involvement in the drone attack, saying the operation was “carried out by Hezbollah.”
Drones have proven to be a low-tech but deadly threat to Israel.
The country’s air defense systems are impressive, intercepting and destroying most projectiles fired at the country. But they were designed and developed primarily to combat rockets and missiles, not drones that can be launched from anywhere, fly low and slow, and change direction quickly.
A deadly Hezbollah attack in early October killed four soldiers at a military base about 40 miles from the border with Israel.
In July, a drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed one man and injured at least 10 others in Tel Aviv. No sirens were activated during the attack. The Israel Defense Forces said two drones were fired and that while one was intercepted, the other was not — due to what it said was human error.
The attack on Netanyahu’s home comes at a time of growing regional conflagration in the Middle East. Israel has not yet carried out its expected response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month and continues its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The incident also comes as the US investigates a leak of highly classified intelligence information about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran following an Iranian missile bombardment of Israel on October 1.
(Eyad Kourdi and Ivana Kottasová, from CNN contributed reports)
This content was originally published in Image shows damage to Netanyahu’s house after Hezbollah drone attack on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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