As Israel braces for a tense week ahead, officials are now pointing the finger at Iran for Saturday's attempted drone strike on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Caesarea, even as the country deliberates its response to a recent Iranian attack.
While Hezbollah launched the drone from Lebanon, a diplomatic source told Israel Hayom that Iran is ultimately responsible. "Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, so Iran bears responsibility for this incident as well," the source said, adding, "There will be consequences for the attempt on Prime Minister Netanyahu's life."
The threats against the prime minister are well-known to security services, prompting frequent changes to his locations over the past year. However, the shift from threats to an actual attempt crosses a red line that Israel won't ignore. Senior officials told Israel Hayom, "We've long known that Iran and Hezbollah wanted to target the prime minister, but this attempt breaks all the rules. It's an assassination attempt on the prime minister, and Iran will pay a heavy price for it, sooner or later."
All eyes in Israel and the US are on Israel's next move. Even before the attempt on Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden had called for a measured response to Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack on Israel, which was meant as a retaliation for alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil in late July and the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in late September. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Israel this week to discuss the ongoing Gaza campaign following the elimination of Sinwar, as well as other fronts.
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
Responding to the drone attack, Netanyahu said, "Iran's proxies who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a grave error. This won't deter me or Israel from continuing our war of resurgence against our enemies to secure our future. I tell Iran and its partners in the axis of evil: Anyone who harms Israeli citizens will pay dearly."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated, "The attempt on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family aims to strike at Israel and its government symbols. Our defense system will continue to target any terror element and hit hard any enemy that has harmed or tries to harm Israel. Our actions across the Middle East have proven this and will continue to do so. Israel is advancing on all war fronts – dismantling Hamas, significantly reducing Hezbollah's capabilities, and eliminating the terror leaders who waged war on us. Hezbollah's attempts to deter us and prevent us from achieving our war goals will fail."
