Israel says drone targeted Netanyahu’s house; Israeli strikes in Gaza kill over 50
Published 12:25 pm Saturday, October 19, 2024
Israel’s government said a drone targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house Saturday, with no casualties, as fighting with Lebanon–based Hezbollah and Gaza –based Hamas showed no pause after the killing of the Hamas mastermind of last year’s Oct. 7 attack.
Israel’s military said dozens of projectiles were launched from Lebanon a day after Hezbollah announced a new phase in fighting. Netanyahu’soffice said the drone targeted his house in the Mediterranean coastal town of Caesarea. Neither he nor his wife were there. It wasn’t clear if the house was hit.
“The proxies of Iran who today tried to assassinate me and my wife made a bitter mistake,” Netanyahu said.
Hezbollah didn’t claim responsibility for the drone attack, but said it carried out several rocket attacks on northern and central Israel. The barrage came as Israel is expected to respond to an attack earlier this month by Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas.
Israel in turn carried out at least 10 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, a heavily populated area home to Hezbollah’s offices, Lebanese authorities said. Israel’s military said it struck Hezbollah targets.
In Gaza, Israeli forces fired at hospitals in the Palestinian enclave’s battered north, and strikes killed more than 50 people, including children, in less than 24 hours, according to hospital officials and an Associated Press reporter there.
“The possibility of war in the region remains a serious concern,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said while visiting Turkey. Group of Seven defense ministers warned against escalation and “all–out war.”
Barrages from Lebanon target northern Israel
The Israel–Hezbollah war has intensified. Hezbollah said Friday it planned to send more guided missiles and exploding drones into Israel. The militant group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September, and Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon early this month.
Israel’s military on Saturday said about 180 projectiles were fired from Lebanon. A 50–year–old man was hit by shrapnel and killed in northern Israel, and four other people were wounded, Israel’s medical services said. In the northern city of Kiryat Ata, one rocket landed. Itzik Billet, commander for the Haifa area, said nine people were slightly injured.
Lebanon’s state–run National News Agency said an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in eastern Baaloul village killed five people, including the mayor of nearby Sohmor village. An Israeli military official confirmed that the IDF struck targets in the Bekaa Valley.
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle on a highway north of Beirut, killing two people.
Israel has issued near–daily warnings for people to leave buildings and villages in parts of Lebanon. The fighting has displaced more than 1 million people, including around 400,000 children.
Israel also said it killed Hezbollah’s deputy commander in the southern town of Bint Jbeil. The army said Nasser Rashid supervised attacks against Israel.