Hezbollah Hits Netanyahu’s Residence Near Haifa

Beirut: In a major embarrassment for the Israeli military, a drone launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Saturday hit prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's heavily guarded residence near Haifa, amid an interception failure.

Reports said drone targeted "Netanyahu's private residence in the coastal city of Caesarea, southern Haifa in the morning hours"

The Israeli military confirmed that a drone had struck the central town where the Israeli Prime Minister resides, and two additional drones were intercepted before they could reach their targets.

Israeli media provided sketchy details on the extent of damage and possible casualties following a ban by the military.

One report quoting Israeli military said the drone kept hovering overhead for an hour before striking the building, describing the event as "a tough morning."

The military said it had intercepted two additional drones launched on Saturday, which set off air-raid sirens at a military base in Glilot, just north of Tel Aviv. But that did not trigger sirens in Caesarea, the coastal location of Mr. Netanyahu's home. The military said the incident was "under review."

One report said, "Netanyahu wasn't present, and no injuries were reported."

Israel's Army Radio said the drone that exploded in Caesarea was of the same type that struck a Golani Brigade camp, killing four soldiers and wounding scores others, saying it is difficult to intercept.

Meanwhile, in a statement online, the Iranian military confirmed Hezbollah's involvement in the attack, stating that Lebanese brothers targeted Netanyahu's residence in a drone attack. They also shared visuals from the area surrounding Netanyahu's home.

The episode came nearly a week after a major Hezbollah strike killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded dozens of others at a military base in northern Israel.

The Hezbollah drone attack that killed four soldiers nearly a week ago occurred at a military training base near Binyamina, just outside Caesarea.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen news channel reported that Hezbollah drone struck the building in Caesarea accurately and eyewitnesses confirmed that the explosion was huge.

In a separate development, sirens blared in military bases in the Glilot settlement in northern Tel Aviv after the drone entered Israeli airspace.

Hezbollah also targeted with drones and missiles a number of strategic Israeli military sites in Haifa and other areas in northern Israel as part of a new phase of retaliatory operations in solidarity with the people of the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Israeli emergency services said one person was killed by shrapnel near the port city of Acre after a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon into the north.

Five people were injured in Kiryat Ata, in the Haifa district, mostly from shrapnel injuries, said a spokesperson for emergency service provider Magen David Adom. 

Israel's vulnerability to drones was also illustrated in June, when Hezbollah broadcast footage of sensitive installations in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, that it captured from a drone that hovered over the northern city seemingly without being detected.

And in July, Israel was stunned when a drone launched by the Houthi militia in Yeme slammed into an apartment building near a United States Embassy branch office in a popular beachfront neighborhood of Tel Aviv, killing one and injuring eight others.

The Israeli military said at least 115 projectiles were fired mainly into the north, with sirens blaring across the region at regular intervals.

In a statement issued on Friday, Hezbollah announced the start of a new phase in its retaliatory operations against Israel, which has been conducting strikes on Lebanon and Gaza for more than a year mostly against civilian targets.