Israel confirms that Hezbollah drone struck Netanyahu residence

Both Israel and Hezbollah have officially confirmed that the Lebanese movement was behind a drone attack that hit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence on Saturday. 

Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, confirmed the drone had struck the building after Hezbollah released a statement earlier on Tuesday. 

Netanyahu and his wife Sara were not at their home in the coastal town of Caesarea, about 80km from Israel’s northern border, when the drone – which was one of three launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon – reached its target. There were no casualties.

Israeli media released footage of the home following the attack. The drone reportedly detonated at Netanyahu’s bedroom window, causing damage to both the garden and the inside of the house. 

“The Islamic Resistance claims responsibility for the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home,” said the head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif, who added that there would be no negotiations while fighting continues with Israel.

Until today, Israeli media had only reported that the drone was launched towards Netanyahu’s home, not that it had hit the structure of the building. 

Netanyahu’s spokesman said that one of three drones launched from Lebanon hit Netanyahu’s residence in the town of Caesarea, adding that he was not in the vicinity and there were no casualties.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Yossi Shelly, director general of Netanyahu’s office, visited the Caesarea residence on Sunday with other officials to assess the damage caused by the strike.

The drone was tracked by an Israeli Apache helicopter, which identified its infiltration from Lebanon until the moment of impact but did not prevent the strike.

The two other drones launched by Hezbollah at the residence breached Israeli airspace but were intercepted in open areas, according to Israeli media.

On Saturday, Netanyahu responded to the attacks by saying: “Iran's proxies, who today attempted to assassinate me and my wife, made a grave mistake. This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing the war of resurgence against our enemies to secure our safety for generations to come.”

Abu Obeida, Hamas’s military spokesman, said: “We congratulate the qualitative operation through which Hezbollah targeted the residence of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.”