Netanyahu calls Hezbollah 'attempt' to assassinate him, wife 'grave mistake'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the alleged attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate him and his wife "a grave mistake".

The PM made the remarks hours after a drone attack, allegedly launched from Lebanon on Saturday 20 October, targeted his private residence in the northern coastal town of Caesarea.

His office said Netanyahu and his wife were not at home at the time of the attack and it caused no casualties. In a post on social media platform X, Netanyahu said: "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."

The Israeli prime minister further said anyone who tries to harm Israel's citizens will pay a "heavy price". "We will continue to eliminate the terrorists and those who dispatch them. We will bring our hostages home from Gaza. And we will return our citizens who live on our Northern border safely to their homes," he added. Israel is determined to achieve all "our war objectives and change the security reality in our region for generations to come", Netanyahu said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli man was killed near the Israeli city of Akko on 19 October, Saturday, reportedly after a projectile launched from Lebanon struck his vehicle, Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service said.

The man, 50, was hit by shrapnel while another man with him was moderately injured, the MDA noted. The hit was part of a barrage of 60 projectiles launched by Hezbollah into several areas in northern Israel within seven minutes, with some of them intercepted, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Earlier on Saturday, two men were injured after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit a building in the Israeli city of Kiryat Ata near Haifa, the MDA said, adding that one is in light-moderate condition, and the other is lightly injured, Xinhua news agency reported.

The hit was part of a barrage of 55 projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israel within 15 minutes. Also on Saturday, a drone launched from Lebanon targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in the northern coastal town of Caesarea, said the prime minister's office. The office said Netanyahu and his wife were not at home at the time and the drone attack caused no casualties.