Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz (left) and Israeli Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman (right), Photo: Abir Sultan/AP
Israeli law enforcement officers detained three suspects after two flares were fired at the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea on Sunday night. Fortunately, neither the prime minister nor his family were in the house at the time of the attack, The Time of Israel reports .
According to Israeli police, the rockets landed in the garden of the residence. There were no injuries or casualties. In order to preserve the secrecy of the investigation, the court imposed a 30-day ban on the publication of details of the case and the names of the detainees.
The attack has become a new challenge for Israeli security services, as threats to the country’s leader have intensified in recent months, not only from the outside but also from within.
The reaction of the country’s leadership
The incident prompted harsh statements from Israeli politicians. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called it an attack that “crossed all red lines”.
“It is impossible for the Prime Minister of Israel, who is under threat from Iran and its allies, to be attacked at home at the same time,” Katz said in a post on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
President Yitzhak Herzog condemned the attack, calling it a “new dangerous frontier” that cannot be ignored. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed a similar position, noting that “the threat to Netanyahu’s life and his family is reaching a new level.”
Second attack in a month
This is the second incident targeting Netanyahu’s residence in the last month. On 22 October, a drone hit a building next to the prime minister’s home. At the time, Netanyahu directly blamed the attempted assassination on the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and promised that those responsible would “pay a high price.”
The attack took place against the backdrop of escalating internal and external tensions around Israel. While Netanyahu remains a target for groups linked to Tehran, incidents of violence on Israeli territory are raising more questions about the effectiveness of the country’s security system.
The investigation is ongoing, and the police and Shin Bet security service assure that all perpetrators will be brought to justice.
