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Israel PM Netanyahu says Hezbollah will pay heavy price for trying to kill him with drone

The prime minister says the attack on his family home in Caesarea was a ‘grave mistake’

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Police are seen at the site of a drone attack in Caesarea, Israel, on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran-backed group Hezbollah of trying to kill him on Saturday, after his office said a drone from Lebanon hit the premier’s family home.

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The drone attack – which Hezbollah has not acknowledged – came as Israeli troops fight the Lebanese group on the ground in southern Lebanon. It followed a series of Israeli killings of Iran-backed militant leaders, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar.

“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Addressing “Iran and its proxies”, the prime minister vowed that “anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price”.

He again insisted on achieving “all our war aims” but added that Israel will “change the security reality in our region for generations to come”.

Israeli security forces stand guard at the site of a drone attack in Caesarea on Saturday. Photo: dpa
Israeli security forces stand guard at the site of a drone attack in Caesarea on Saturday. Photo: dpa

His office earlier said the Netanyahus were not at home and reported no injuries from the attack in Caesarea, about 20km (12 miles) south of Haifa.

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