Failed Assassination Attempt on Netanyahu, Personal Residence Reportedly Hit by Hezbollah Drone
Netanyahu: “We’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies – we’re going to win this war.”
An Iranian-backed attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed after a Hezbollah drone reportedly hit his private home in central Israel early morning Saturday.
“An explosive drone launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon hit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in the coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday,” the news website Axios reported. “This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit.”
Prime Minister and his family were not at the residence at the time of the attack. No injuries were reported from the drone strike.
🚨Netanyahu's response to the drone attack that hit his private residence earlier today: pic.twitter.com/dCm2uJuFMT
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 19, 2024
The Israeli leader reportedly released a video following the failed drone strike, vowing to continue the war against Iran and its terrorist proxies.
The UK’s Daily Telegraph reported the Israeli prime minister’s defiant message:
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not be deterred after a Hezbollah drone hit his holiday house.
The Israeli prime minister released a video in which he is seen walking casually through a field in the sun, talking about the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
“Prime minister, how is it going?” he is asked by the cameraman.
“Well two days ago we took out Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist mastermind whose goons beheaded our men, raped our women, burnt babies alive, we took him out,” he said. “We’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies – we’re going to win this war.”
His message came after a Hezbollah drone hit Mr Netanyahu’s weekend house in Caesarea.
“So will something deter you?” he is asked in the video. “No,” he replied.
The Israeli military issued the details of the drone strike in the area without specifically mentioning the prime minister’s residence. “During the past hour, three UAVs were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Two of the UAVs were intercepted,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Saturday morning. “One additional UAV hit a structure in the area of Caesarea.”
The Israeli news website YNET reported the drone strike on Netanyahu’s home:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday posted a clip filmed in Jerusalem saying nothing will deter him, just hours after a drone attack targeted his private residence in Caesarea.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the drone attack launched in Lebanon targeted his private residence in Caesarea adding that the family was not at home during the attack. The drone landed on another resident but caused no injuries. (…)
“We are carrying on to the end. I am proud of our soldiers, our commanders and the citizens and nothing will deter me,” Netanyahu says after Hezbollah drone strike on his private residence.
“The day before yesterday, we eliminated arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar. I said we were in our war of revival,” Netanyahu said. “We are carrying on to the end. I am proud of our soldiers, our commanders and the citizens and nothing will deter me,” he said.
The Israeli prime minister on Saturday evening posted a message, warning those “who harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price.”
“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” he wrote on X. “This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing our just war against our enemies in order to secure our future.”
The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake.
This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing our just war against our enemies in order to secure our future.
I say to Iran and its proxies in its axis of evil:…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 19, 2024
Hezbollah on Saturday continued firing dozens of drone and rockets at Israeli towns and cities.
Approx. 55 projectiles have been launched by Hezbollah toward Haifa and northern Israel this morning, causing hundreds of thousands of Israelis to spend their weekend running to shelter. pic.twitter.com/RYxRRZHI1Q
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 19, 2024
IDF continues operations against terrorists in Lebanon, Gaza
The Israeli armed forces continued airstrikes and ground operations against Iranian-backed terrorists in Lebanon and Gaza.
The IDF troops” continue limited, localized, and targeted raids against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in southern Lebanon,” the military said in statement Saturday.
“The troops located and dismantled numerous weapons during operational activity in the area, including a cluster of rocket launchers, a “Kornet” anti-tank missile launcher that was ready to fire toward communities in northern Israel, rockets, and additional military equipment,” the IDF revealed.
Israeli fighter jets targeted Hezbollah’s terrorist assets in Lebanon. “[O]ver the past day, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] struck and dismantled numerous Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and launchers aimed toward Israeli territory. This includes some launchers from which rockets have been fired toward communities in northern Israel over the past day, ” the military added.
Inside a school building in southern Lebanon, IDF soldiers uncover a tunnel shaft and stockpiles of munitions pic.twitter.com/aB5nQwQyqa
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 19, 2024
Days after the elimination of Hamas chief Sinwar, the Israel military operations were underway across Gaza.
In the northern Gaza strong of Jabaliya, “IDF troops eliminated several terrorists in close-quarters encounters and IAF strikes,” the military said. “In the central Gaza Strip, the troops directed IAF strikes and dismantled terrorist structures used by Hamas to execute sniper fire and plant explosives.”
The IDF also continued humanitarian operations in Gaza.
An airdrop operation of 81 food packages was completed in Khan Yunis today.
This marks the latest of 10,000+ packages, including food and medical supplies, that have been airdropped in recent months through 141 airdrop missions across Gaza.
The airdrop operations were… pic.twitter.com/rIzM1mVccJ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 19, 2024
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Comments
It seems like a fair response, if they’re decapitating each other. The organizational ability depth favors Israel though.
There is nothing fair about Islam. Some disagreements have reasonable arguments on each side. In this case Israel is completely in the right. I have never rarely seen as black and white as this case.
Israel does not and has never gone after political parties, to date they have only killed terrorist and militarily active combatants. Do you really want to escalate to where Israel starts taking out nations leaders?
This has been a central covenant of world order since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. The US has followed the international prohibition against assassination beginning with the Lieber Code (1863), and General Order No. 100 that declared assassination “a relapse into barbarism.”
The strikes against Hussein in 2003 and Qaddafi in 2011 contrary to these societal norms because Bush and Obama didn’t care about world conventions and societal norms.
Central covenant of world order? How quaint. Seems like the world (not just Bush and Obama) have struggled with that the last few centuries. “central covenant of world order” sounds a bit like Star Trek’s “prime directive”: honored more in the breach…
Really? The Treaty of Westphalia?
There’s a YouTube video making fun of that process you should watch.
While it did end DECADES of Catholic vs Protestant wars in Europe (good) which killed millions of civilians it also consisted of the major powers slicing and dicing up smaller countries and principalities. (Bad).
The idea of “you don’t kill the leaders of folks you are at war with” apparently isn’t an enforced international law. For practical reasons it’s sometimes followed – otherwise Hirohito would have hanged post WWII. In no alternate history fiction does Hitler survive capture by the Allies either, all his top underlings faced possible death sentences.
In more modern times, terrorists killed the Egyptian president (because he made peace with Israel), the putative head of the PLO was targeted for death for decades, Bush jr. was an assassination target, (as had been Churchill), bunglers at the CIA targeted Castro, and it’s entirely possible JFK died as retaliation.
The reason you don’t kill opposing leaders is because (1) it makes YOU a target, (2) it can stiffen resolve, (3) the replacement may be worse, and (4) it makes negotiated settlements less likely.
There’s also a bit of classism involved, like the mid-evil idea that you treat captured nobles like honored guests to be ransomed, and regular soldiers like expendable trash.
During WW2 the Allies and the Axis targeted leaders. Churchill and Hitler had attempts to kill them. When leaders are terrorists they become viable targets.
The Lieber Code does not protect political leaders. They are legitimate targets every bit as much as uniformed soldiers, which only makes sense since they’re the ones giving the soldiers their orders. The section you cite has nothing to do with this. It bans outlawry, i.e. proclaiming an individual to be someone “who may be slain without trial by any captor“.
Reagan’s bombing of Gadaffi’s home and Bush’s attempt to take out Hussein were completely lawful and justified. But once Hussein was captured he was not shot on the spot but properly held for trial, as would have been done to Hitler had he been captured.
The difference between Israel taking out Nasrallah and Hizballah attempting to take out Netanyahu is not that the latter was elected and the former was not! The difference is that Israel is fighting a just war and Hizballah is not. Every life taken by Hizballah is murder, and killing Netanyahu would be no worse. Every life taken by the IDF is a lawful act of war, and Nasrallah was no different, just as it was lawful to kill Yamamoto.
And it was completely lawful for the CIA to attempt to kill Castro, at the president’s orders. The only thing preventing it from carrying out such killings is an executive order, which obviously does not bind the president or anyone acting on his orders.
Cripple Iran, cutting the head off the snake.
obamamas post mark?
Just noticing that reports yesterday were that somehow American intelligence about Israeli plans to strike Iran somehow ended up in Iranian hands. I wonder if there was a quid pro quo wherein the DNC and the Secret Service received the Iranian planning documents for the strike on Netanyahu?
Subotai Bahadur
This may be a major blunder for Iran. The attempt on the life of the Israeli head of state gives Israel a good excuse to assassinate the Iranian head of state. And the difference is that Israel usually succeeds.
Israel doesn’t need any excuse. If it had a chance to do so, and it considered it to be in its interest, it would do so.
I just saw on Israeli news that Iran has fired more missiles at Israel. Has the Biden leak encouraged this? How long before Israel makes Iran’s climate warmer?