The video shows damage to Netanyahu’s beach house as Hezbollah claims the drone attack

CNN
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Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s beachfront home was damaged in a drone strike claimed by Hezbollah, geolocated video footage showed by CNN, in an attack that penetrated deep into Israel even as the militant group suffers from Continuous Israeli bombing.

Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time of Saturday’s attack in the coastal city of Caesarea, and no one was injured, according to Israeli officials.

But the incident raised questions about how the drone evaded Israeli air defenses even after the elimination of Hezbollah’s leadership, and at a time when the Israeli army is intensifying its strikes across large areas of Lebanon.

CNN affiliate Kan 11 published an exterior photo of the house showing damage to the window with cracks and what appear to be burn marks. Kan 11 reported that the damaged window was from a bedroom.

The comment on the photo published by the reporter stated: “Permitted to publish: The drone launched by Hezbollah that hit the Prime Minister’s house in Caesarea.”

Video identified by CNN shows the same view of an exterior window in what appears to be the home’s backyard.

The Israeli army said on Saturday that “three drones were spotted crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.” Two drones were intercepted. Another drone hit a building in the Caesarea area.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s spokesman confirmed the attack that day, but Israeli authorities did not acknowledge until Tuesday that the drone had struck the house.

Hezbollah claimed “full and exclusive responsibility” on Tuesday for the attack, issuing a warning: “If we have not reached you yet, know that between us and you are days, nights and battles.”

In a post on the X website following the attack on Saturday, Netanyahu blamed “Iranian agents” for the attack and said they “made a bitter mistake.”

Netanyahu added: “I say to the Iranians and their partners in the axis of evil: Anyone who harms the citizens of the State of Israel will pay a heavy price.”

Iran denied its involvement in the drone attack, saying that the operation was “carried out by Hezbollah.”

Drones have proven to be a low-tech but deadly threat to Israel.

The country’s air defense systems are impressive, as they intercept and destroy most of the projectiles launched towards the country. But they were designed and developed primarily to counter rockets and missiles, not drones that can be launched from anywhere, fly low and slow, and change direction quickly.

A deadly attack by Hezbollah earlier in October killed four soldiers at a military base about 40 miles inside Israel from the border.

In July, a drone launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen killed one man and wounded at least 10 others in Tel Aviv. No sirens were activated during that attack. The Israeli military said that two drones were launched, and that while one was intercepted, the other was not – due to what it said was human error.

The attack on Netanyahu’s home comes at a time when there is an increasingly expanding regional fire in the Middle East. Israel has not yet implemented its expected response to Iran in response to a ballistic missile attack earlier this month, and continues its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The incident also comes as the United States investigates the leak of top-secret US intelligence information about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran following the launch of an Iranian missile targeting Israel on October 1.

CNN’s Iyad Kurdi and Ivana Kutasova contributed reporting.