A drone launched from southern Lebanon hit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in the Israeli coastal city of Caesarea. The attack by Hezbollah drones on Netanyahu's residence, evading Israeli air defenses, has caused widespread concern among Israel's defense forces. However, neither Netanyahu nor his wife and family members were present at the residence at the time of the drone strike.

A statement from Netanyahu's office confirmed that the attack took place early Saturday morning. Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said the drone struck a building in Caesarea, famous for its luxury villas and Roman ruins and amphitheaters. However, it was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties in the attack.

However, photos and videos posted by local residents showed flames and smoke billowing after the drone strike in Caesarea. The IDF said three drones were fired from southern Lebanon. One of these drones hit the prime minister's residence in Caesarea and two drones were shot down.

The IDF said it has opened an investigation into the incident, which apparently calls into question the security of the Israeli military. No warning sirens sounded in Caesarea about possible drone impact or explosions.

Footage posted on social media showed Israeli military attack helicopters and warplanes chasing the drone. But the drone hit Netanyahu's residence in no time. At this time, a lot of smoke can be seen flying there. The huge explosion shook the surrounding area.

At the same time, warning sirens sounded in Gililo, north of Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported. The main intelligence office of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad and the IDF are located in that area. Although the sirens sounded, there was no warning signal on the Israeli Home Front Command's app or other platforms.

But warning sirens sounded in the Israeli coastal city of Caesarea within minutes of downing two drones flying from Lebanon. A resident of Caesarea told local television Channel-Twelve, "We heard the sound of planes flying in the sky. Then something seemed to happen. But no siren was heard. So we weren't too worried.

He said, but then suddenly a big explosion was heard. But it was not clear to us whether it was due to interception of the drone or the sound of the drone explosion. But it is clear that an actual incident occurred without any prior warning.

תיעוד שמעלה הרבה שאלות ותהיות הבוקר: מסוק קרב של חיל האוויר במרדף אחרי כטב"ם חיזבאללה. בתיעוד הזה נראה שהכטב"ם עוקף אבל יש גם אשליה אופטית וזווית צילום- בכל מקרה, מתוך שלושה כטבמים ששוגרו מלבנון, אחד פגע ישירות במבנה בקסריה pic.twitter.com/zx9fr812BG

— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) October 19, 2024

Residents said this is very worrying. But luckily there were no casualties. Another resident, Ofek Mor, said he heard the sound of drones in the sky. He said, "Suddenly we heard a sound; But it is not clear what is happening. Then there was a huge explosion, very powerful. It's walking distance from my house, we came here and very quickly we realized what happened.''

In addition to the drone strikes, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at several towns in northern Israel on Friday night and early Saturday morning. Israel's military said at least 115 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday. French news agency AFP says Hezbollah has fired hundreds of projectiles at northern Israel. Sirens were sounded across the region at regular intervals. The number of missiles was confirmed by AFP based on multiple statements released by the Israeli military on Saturday.

• The way the Netanyahu residence was hit

Noor Odeh, a correspondent for Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera, said there was not much information about the drone strike on Netanyahu's residence. However, the drone attack on the Israeli Prime Minister's residence has been confirmed. He said Netanyahu's residence is located in an area with a strong security system.

How Hezbollah's drones managed to bypass this nearly impenetrable security system and hit Netanyahu's residence has left the Israeli military deeply concerned. Noor Odeh said that the drone flew from the Lebanese border to about 70 kilometers of Israeli territory. The drone was not detected by the Israeli air defense system at all.

Even the sirens used to warn residents during drone strikes were not done in this case. The drone hit exactly where Hezbollah intended to hit. The incident caused widespread concern in Israel and the Israeli security forces.

Noor Odeh said a large fleet of rockets from Lebanon was used to launch drone attacks on Netanyahu's residence. He said sirens were sounded across northern Israel, including the cities of Galilee and Haifa.

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel. This city is also seen as a strategic port city. It is home to around 3 lakh people and is home to the country's naval headquarters. "The sirens stopped shortly after we confirmed that a drone had successfully hit the Israeli Prime Minister's residence in Caesarea," Odeh said.

The attack on Netanyahu's residence is seen as the biggest in Israel since the start of direct conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. The attack came a day after Hezbollah was reported to have entered a new phase in its fight against Israeli troops.

A day ago, a Hezbollah statement said that Hezbollah has deployed new weapons in the conflict with Israel. The statement from the group's operations room said Hezbollah fighters used new types of missiles and explosive-laden drones capable of hitting precise targets for the first time.

"The fighters are working as planned to fight against Israeli troops who have invaded parts of southern Lebanon."

Sources: Times of Israel, AFP, Al Jazeera.