Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent out a strong message to Hezbollah after its alleged attempt to assassinate him and his wife through a drone attack in the Israeli town of Caesarea. The Lebanon-based terror group, he said, made a "grave mistake" and anybody who tries to harm Israel's citizens would pay a heavy price.
Netanyahu issued the warning through a post on X in response to a drone being launched towards his residence in Caesarea in southern Haifa.
"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 on X.
Issuing a warning to Iran and the 'Axis of Resistance' – Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen's Houthis, the prime minister said Israel is determined to achieve its war objectives and "change the security reality in our region for generations".
"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 warned.
A drone launched from Lebanon exploded near Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea. However, the Prime Minister's spokesperson said Netanyahu and his wife were not present at the time of the attack. The drone attack came a day after Hamas confirmed that its chief Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7, 2023, was killed in an Israeli attack in 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," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
The Israeli military said three drones were fired from Lebanon on Saturday and two had been intercepted.
Neither Hezbollah nor any other militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone attack so far.
The October 7 attack was the worst attack on jews after holocast. Over 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 250 taken hostage during the surprise attack by Hamas terrorists. Sinwar, who was killed on Wednesday, took over as the chief of Hamas after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran's capital, Tehran.