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Iranian Proxies 'Tried To Assassinate Me & My Wife', Netanyahu Says After Drone Struck His Residence

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by Tyler Durden
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Update(1330ET): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has essentially accused Iran of trying to assassinate him after a drone sent from Hezbollah struck his private residence outside of Tel Aviv Saturday morning. "The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake," he said in an English statement on social media.

"This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit," Axios reported, though details of the extent of damage have been scant. Neither he nor his wife or family had been present at the residence when the attack on the upscale Caesarea neighborhood occurred. Israel's military appeared to be tracking the drone, which traveled some 70km from Lebanon, but anti-air defenses appeared to have failed, with not so much as warning sirens going off.

Some unverified reports are saying it was an Iranian Shahed 101 drone, which was briefly filmed at some point in the skies over the Tel Aviv area, and apparently mirrored by a nearby IDF helicopter.

Times of Israel writes that "sirens did sound in Glilot north of Tel Aviv, which houses a major IDF intelligence base and the Mossad headquarters. Those sirens were not accompanied by warnings on the Home Front Command’s app or other platforms."

Israel's Channel 12 is reporting that "Iran attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" - citing a senior official.

Below is Netanyahu's statement in full...

Could this be the precursor to a major Israeli attack on Iran which the world has been anticipating? 

Israel has vowed it will soon retaliate for the Oct.1st attack, but well over two weeks have passed since the ballistic missile attack which saw some 200 ballistic missiles pummel various sites in central Israel.

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’s home has been targeted in a drone attack sent from Hezbollah in Lebanon on Saturday. It happened at this private residence in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv.

A Netanyahu spokesperson confirmed that the drone struck near the residence, but the prime minister and his family were not home at the time of the attack, with details of the damage not disclosed. Remarkably, the inbound drone was captured on video, traveling close in proximity to an Israeli military helicopter, which may have been tracking and trying to shoot it down.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) indicated that the drone was one of three launched from Lebanon, with the other two having been intercepted.

The fact that the Kamikaze UAV made it all the way to the prime minister's residence has raised questions over the country's defense and warning system. The Times of Israel reports:

The short statement from Netanyahu’s office came after the IDF said that “a building had been hit” in the upscale town famous for its swanky villas and Roman ruins and amphitheater.

"No warning sirens were sounded in Caesarea ahead of the drone impact and explosion," the same report notes. "Footage posted to social media appeared to show attack helicopters in the air that were apparently hunting the drone further to the north."

Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli army have shared the following additional details, via Al Jazeera:

  • The drone was launched from Lebanon and directly hit the PM’s house in Caesarea.
  • Police arrived to locate the scene of the attack. At about the same time, sirens sounded in Tel Aviv.
  • Two other drones launched at the same time were reportedly intercepted.
  • The incident triggered alarms in the Glilot military base, but the military later determined that drones were not in that area.

Additionally, the drone flew a significant distance of 70km from Lebanon, which suggests Hezbollah is greatly deepening the reach of its projectiles, as it vowed to do following constant IDF airstrikes on Beirut and amid the expanded IDF ground operation inside south Lebanon.

Within hours after the drone attack on his home Netanyahu issued a defiant video on social media vowing that "nothing will deter" him while declaring that Israel is "going to win this war." He further said that slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, killed by the army in Rafah this week, was "the terrorist mastermind whose goons beheaded our men, raped our women and burned babies alive."

The below photo purporting to show damage to the outside of Netanyahu's Caesarea residence (or possibly a building near it) has widely circulated online:

"We took him out," the Israeli leader said. He added: "We’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies." The region is still bracing for a possible major Israeli attack on Iran, in retaliation for the ballistic missile attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic on October 1st.

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