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2024 drone attack on Benjamin Netanyahu's residence
2024 drone attack on Benjamin Netanyahu's residence
Part of Israeli–Lebanese conflict
	Official portrait of Benjamin Netanyahu
Location	Caesarea, Haifa District, Israel
Date	19 October 2024
Target	Residence of Benjamin Netanyahu and his family
Attack type	Drone attack
Deaths	None
Perpetrators	Hezbollah
Motive	attempted assassination

On 19 October 2024, a drone strike took place on the private residence of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the town of Caesarea, Israel. The attack was referred to as an assassination attempt by several news outlets and by Netanyahu himself and was suspected to have been launched from Lebanon. The incident did not result in any injuries, and Netanyahu was not at his home during the attack. This targeting came in the context of ongoing escalation between Israel and the Axis of Resistance, including Hezbollah, in light of the ongoing Israeli–Lebanese conflict.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Attack

On October 19, 2024, Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea was targeted by one of three drones, believed to have been launched from Lebanon. The attack came amid heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, with several rockets and drones fired toward areas in northern Israel. The attack did not result in any injuries, and Netanyahu was not at his residence at the time. Two other drones launched to the area were intercepted.^[2]^[5]^[6] The drone cracked a bedroom window but failed to penetrate further due to reinforced glass and additional protections, while debris landed on a swimming pool and in the yard.^[7]

Al Jazeera reporter Nour Odeh reported that prior to the strike, areas in northern Israel witnessed several rocket attacks by Hezbollah, and sirens were activated in cities such as Haifa and the Galilee, which she stated could have acted as decoys prior to the attack on Netanyahu's residence. She reported that sirens had gone off around Caesarea only after the attack on Netanyahu's residence was confirmed.^[2]

Responses

Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack an attempted assassination against himself and his wife Sara Netanyahu conducted by Iranian proxies, stating that they had "made a bitter mistake".^[2] He further stated that the attack would not hinder or dissuade Israel from "the war of revival" against Israel's enemies and to ensure Israel's security for generations.^[8]

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz also stated that the attack was an assassination attempt against Netanyahu and his family conducted by Iranian proxies, and called the attack another exposure of "Iran’s true face and the evil axis it leads".^[3]

Axis of Resistance

Iran stated that Hezbollah was responsible for the reported attack, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, which quoted Iran's mission to the UN stating, "The action in question has been carried out by Hezbollah in Lebanon."^[9]

Hezbollah stated that it had conducted multiple rocket strikes across north and central Israel on the same day of the attack, although it did not explicitly state that it was responsible for the drone attack on Netanyahu's residence.^[2] Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for the attack on 22 October 2024.^[10]

Al Jazeera reporter Nour Odeh called the attack a matter of concern for Israeli security forces, due to fact that the drone successfully struck its intended target 70 kilometers (43 miles) away from the Lebanese border without triggering any sirens.^[2]

International

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, after receiving information regarding the attack from Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, was reported to have been "relieved" that Netanyahu survived, and began to review adjustments to United States operations in the Middle East, including the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system to bolster Israeli defense against the Axis of Resistance.^[3]

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held a call with Netanyahu following the attack, expressing alarm at the use of drones.^[11]