Israel launched multiple airstrikes on southern Beirut in response to rocket attacks from Hezbollah. The Lebanese armed group fired volleys of rockets at northern Israel on Saturday. A drone, launched from Lebanon, also targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s holiday home.
Netanyahu’s spokesman confirmed that one of three drones hit his residence in Caesarea. Netanyahu was not present during the attack, and no casualties were reported. The Israeli military intercepted the other two drones. In addition, Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets at northern Israel, killing one person and injuring 13.
Netanyahu addressed the attack, saying, “The proxies of Iran who today tried to assassinate me and my wife made a bitter mistake.”
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire since October last year. Saturday’s attacks followed Hezbollah’s declaration of a new phase in their fight against Israel. Though Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for the drone attack, they confirmed carrying out rocket strikes on northern and central Israel.
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Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, highlighted Israeli concerns about the drone strike. She noted that the drone traveled undetected for 70 kilometers from Lebanon, without triggering any sirens, and successfully struck Netanyahu’s residence. The incident has raised alarms in Israeli security circles.
Odeh also pointed out that Hezbollah used “a large volley of rockets” as decoys to facilitate the drone attack. Sirens blared across northern Israel, including Galilee and Haifa, following the rocket fire. Haifa, Israel’s largest northern city, is a vital port and naval hub with a population of 300,000.
Later in the day, Israeli airstrikes hit multiple locations in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported four people were killed, and 13 were injured in an airstrike on an apartment building in Baaloul, located in Lebanon’s Western Bekaa district. The strikes also targeted southern Beirut’s suburbs, marking the first attacks in three days on the area.
Footage showed smoke rising from the suburbs shortly after Israel’s military ordered evacuations. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported two strikes on a building in Haret Hreik, followed by strikes in the nearby al-Umara neighborhood of Choueifat.
Israel’s military confirmed they were targeting Hezbollah positions.
The escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah threatens to further destabilize the region, with concerns growing over a broader conflict. Both sides have sustained losses, and civilian casualties are mounting as the conflict intensifies.
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