Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accusing Iran of trying to assassinate him after a drone struck his private residence in the central seaside town of Caesarea early on Oct. 19. “The agents of Iran who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake,” Netanyahu stated, reported the Times of Israel. He said the attack would not deter him from continuing the war, and that anyone who harms Israelis will pay “a heavy price.” He promised, “We will continue to eliminate your terrorists, we will return our hostages from Gaza, we will return our residents in the north.” Netanyahu and his wife were reportedly not home when the drone struck.
According to various reports, the drone was one of three launched from Lebanon—the other two were shot down—and flew a distance of 70 km before impacting. That, and the fact that there were no warnings prior to the drone strike, have raised concerns about the porousness of Israeli air defenses. Al Mayadeen cited Israeli Army Radio quoting a military source as saying that the security services are “investigating the security gaps that allowed a drone to reach Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea,” an incident seen as “a very flagrant security failure.” The state of alert was raised “for all symbols of authority in Israel after Netanyahu’s residence was targeted by a drone from Lebanon,” as confirmed by the major Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.