The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuaccused, this Saturday 19th, “Iran’s allies” of having tried to assassinate him in a drone attack against his residence, and threatened those involved, in the midst of a war against the Lebanese Hezbollah.
According to his office, Netanyahu and his wife were not at home in Caesarea, a city on the coast of Israel, at the time of the attack, which caused no casualties. The army indicated that the drone, coming from Lebanonhit a “structure” in Caesarea, without clarifying whether it was located on the property of the residence.
“Iran’s allies who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “I say to the Iranians and their allies in the Axis of Evil: anyone who harms the citizens of the State of Israel will pay dearly for it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defense announced that 73 people died on Saturday night in an Israeli attack in the north of the territory, with many others believed to still be buried under the rubble.
The Israeli army said it attacked a “Hamas terrorist target.” The attack against Netanyahu comes amid Israel’s war against the pro-Iranian Lebanese group Hezbollah, which claimed this Saturday several rocket fires at Israel.
Iran’s mission in HIM claimed that the action was the work of Hezbollah, which receives military and financial support from Tehran.
Tension with Iran
The incident also occurs in a context of growing tension between Israel and Iran.
On October 1, Iran launched 200 missiles against Israeli territory, in response to the assassinations of Iranian general Abbas Nilforushan and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in September in Beirut.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised a “lethal, precise and surprising” response to the missile attack.
Israel indicated that Hezbollah fired “around 200 missiles” from Lebanon this Saturday.
For its part, Hezbollah claimed to have fired rockets at the Haifa region, Israel’s large northern port, as well as Safed and a military base.
“Indescribable horrors”
In the Gaza Strip, more than 400 people have died in the north of the territory since October 6, according to local medical sources, when the Israeli army began an air and ground offensive against Hamas, claiming that the militants were regrouping in the area.
Palestinians in this region are experiencing “indescribable horrors”, said the acting head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), Joyce Msuya.
“Scary news from northern Gaza, where Palestinians continue to endure unspeakable horrors under siege by Israeli forces. These atrocities must stop,” Msuya wrote on the X social network.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has been weakened by a year of war and the assassination on Wednesday of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
In Naples, G7 defense ministers from the major Western powers called for “a significant and lasting increase” in humanitarian aid for Gaza.
They also called on Iran “to refrain from providing support to Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi (Yemeni rebels) and other non-state actors, as well as from taking any additional measures that could destabilize the region and trigger an uncontrolled escalation.” .
The war in Gaza began after the incursion on October 7, 2023, by fighters who killed 1,206 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians, and captured 251 hostages, of which 97 are still in captivity, according to AFP counts based on in official Israeli data.
In Israel’s reprisal offensive against Gaza, 42.519 Palestinians died, according to data from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, considered reliable by the UN.
“Every day, every time, there is a massacre. (…) We have become the walking dead,” declared Nasser, a Palestinian, in front of the Al Aqsa hospital, in Deir el-Balah, in the center of the Strip.
The director of the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, in the north, Maruan Sultan, accused the Israeli army of having bombed his establishment.
Bombings in Lebanon
An Israeli bombing hit this Saturday, for the first time, the road that connects Beirut to northern Lebanon, killing two people, Lebanese authorities announced.
Israel also bombed the southern suburbs of the capital, a Hezbollah stronghold, after asking residents to leave the area.
In the east of the country, four people were killed in another Israeli attack, including a mayor, Lebanese official news agency ANI reported.
Israel says it seeks to neutralize Hezbollah in regions close to its border and allow the return of around 60,000 displaced people to the north of the country, who fled due to rocket fire from the Islamist movement.
At least 1,418 people have died in Lebanon since Israeli bombings against Hezbollah began on September 23, according to an AFP survey based on official data. The UN estimates around 700,000 displaced people in the country.
G7 defense ministers expressed “concern” about threats against the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil), which accuses Israel of having fired at its positions after the start of the offensive against Hezbollah last month.
“The protection of blue helmets is the responsibility of all parties,” they added in the final statement of their meeting in Naples.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said in a statement that its position in Mais al Jabal in the south of the country ran out of water before being replenished due to roadblocks.
