'Grave Mistake': Netanyahu Says Hezbollah Tried To Kill Him In Drone Attack, Warns Iran Of Heavy Price

Israeli news outlet Channel 12 citing a senior government official said Tehran tried to kill Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whose home came under Hezbollah fire.

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Israeli news media said Iran plotted to kill Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his house came under Hezbollah missiles. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said he remains undeterred by the Hezbollah drone attack that targeted his home and warned Iranian proxies that they will pay a heavy price for targeting him and his wife.

“Two days ago we took out Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist mastermind. We continue our battle. Nothing will deter me," he said.

Later on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said Iranian proxy Hezbollah made a ‘grave’ mistake by plotting to kill him and his wife. “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: Anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price," Netanyahu said in a social media post on X.

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz backed his boss and said the drone attack ‘exposed Iran’s true face and the evil axis it leads’.

In another post on X, Israeli foreign minister Katz said Hezbollah is Iran’s primary proxy soon after Iran denied responsibility for the attack on Netanyahu.

In his post, X said: “The Iranian Embassy at the UN denies responsibility for the assassination attempt on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming: “Hezbollah was behind it. The primary proxy, the tentacle Iran created, funded, armed, trained, and now controls in all its operations, is suddenly portrayed as an independent entity. Your lies and false pretenses won’t help you – you are responsible."

Israeli media outlet Channel 12 said in a post on social media site X on Saturday that Iran tried to eliminate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The broadcaster said an Israeli senior government official confirmed the involvement of Tehran.

Channel 12’s social media post is the first time the name of Tehran has come up following the attack on the Israeli PM’s residence by Hezbollah.

Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli premier and his wife were not in Caesarea during the drone attack and “there were no injuries". Earlier the military said a drone fired from Lebanon had “hit a structure" in the central Israeli town, according to a report by news agency AFP.

“A UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was launched toward the prime minister’s residence in Caesarea. The prime minister and his wife were not at the location, and there were no injuries in the incident," Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

A barrage of projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Saturday, with sirens blaring across northern Israel at regular intervals.

Israel is fighting a war against Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, with Israel sending ground troops across the Lebanese border last month.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it had destroyed Hezbollah’s regional command centre with an air strike.

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Hezbollah said it fired a salvo of rockets at the Israeli city of Haifa and areas to its north.

The group later said it launched “a swarm of explosives-laden drones" at an “air missile defence base" east of the central Israeli city of Hadera.

Location :
Tel Aviv, Israel

First Published:
October 19, 2024, 16:02 IST