Israeli PM says Hezbollah tried to ‘kill’ him with drone

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Iran-backed group Hezbollah of trying to kill him on Saturday after his office said a drone from Lebanon struck the prime minister’s home.

The drone strike, which Hezbollah has not commented on, came as Israel and the Lebanese group are engaged in heavy fighting and after a series of Israeli killings of Iran-backed militant leaders, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and most recently Yahya Sinwar of Hamas.

“The attempt by the Iranian proxy Hezbollah to kill me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

In his address to “Iran and its allies,” Netanyahu vowed that “anyone who tries to harm Israeli citizens will pay a heavy price.”

“Israel is committed to achieving all our war objectives and changing the security reality in our region for generations to come.”

His office previously said the Netanyahus were not at home and reported no injuries in the drone strike.

Armed groups affiliated with Iran in the Middle East, including Hebzollah, are involved in the war between Israel and Hamas that has been raging in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Tehran has launched two direct attacks on arch-enemy Israel during the war, most recently a rocket barrage on October 1 for which Israel has vowed to retaliate.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Saturday’s drone strike, reported by Netanyahu’s office, “exposed” the “true face” of the Islamic republic.

In a post on social media platform X, Katz accused Iran of leading an “evil axis” of regional proxies.

The Israeli military said earlier that a drone from Lebanon had “hit a building” in the coastal town of Caesarea, where Netanyahu lives, without specifying whether it was the prime minister’s home.

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