Caesarea under Fire: Hezbollah Rockets Near Netanyahu’s Home
While the Israeli Prime Minister was at his residence in Caesarea, Hezbollah launched a rocket attack, triggering sirens in the town located about 100 kilometers south of Lebanon.
On Friday, the Israeli army announced that Hezbollah had launched more than 100 rockets from Lebanon into Israel by 3 p.m.
Although the attacks between Hezbollah and Israel have become almost daily, what stands out about Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on Friday is their targeting of the city of Caesarea, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home is located. Netanyahu was there when the sirens went off.
First Time
This is the first time since the beginning of the war that sirens have been heard in Caesarea, although no interceptions or rocket impacts were reported.
The Israeli Prime Minister owns a private home in Caesarea and another, the official Prime Minister’s residence, located on Gaza Street in West Jerusalem.
Since it was the Hebrew New Year holiday, Netanyahu was with his family at his home in Caesarea.
The “Ynet” news site, affiliated with the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper, reported that Netanyahu was at home when the sirens sounded.
Caesarea, located south of Haifa, is about 100 kilometers south of Lebanon. It remains unclear whether Hezbollah specifically targeted Caesarea because Netanyahu was there.
Shortly after the sirens went off, the Israeli army said in a statement: “Following the alerts in the Wadi Ara and Haifa Bay areas, two rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted. No injuries were reported.” Neither Netanyahu nor his office commented on the incident.
In total, Hezbollah has fired more than 550 rockets and shells at Israel since Monday, according to Israeli army reports.
Israeli Air Raids
The southern suburb of Beirut was hit by intense Israeli air raids overnight, with their impact felt in areas beyond Beirut. The Israeli army warned residents of several areas to evacuate before bombing them.
On Friday, Hezbollah accused Israel of targeting rescue teams from the Islamic Health Organization, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, killing one of its members while working to clear rubble and rescue those injured in the heavy night raids on southern Beirut.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed on the platform “X” (formerly Twitter) that Hezbollah fighters were “increasingly using rescue vehicles to transport terrorists and weapons.”
Adraee added: “Hezbollah uses ambulances from the Islamic Health Organization for terrorist purposes.”
Health Minister Firas Abiad announced on Thursday that at least 97 rescue workers, including medics and firefighters, had been killed, 40 of them during the last three days this week.
With the repeated targeting of rescuers in various regions, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced diplomatic efforts “to pressure Israel to allow rescue and relief teams to reach the sites hit by the airstrikes and to transport victims and the injured.” Mikati condemned “Israel’s violations of international laws and humanitarian norms.”
