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Strike launched toward Israeli prime minister’s house

Oct 19, 2024 | 1:44 AM

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s government said a drone was launched toward the the prime minister’s house Saturday, with no casualties.

Sirens wailed Saturday morning in Israel, warning of incoming fire from Lebanon, with a drone launched toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea, the Israeli government said.

Neither he nor his wife were home and there were no casualties, said his spokesperson in a statement.

The strikes into Israel come as its war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah — a Hamas ally backed by Iran — has intensified in recent weeks.

Hezbollah said Friday that it planned to launch a new phase of fighting by sending more guided missiles and exploding drones into Israel. The militant group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in late September, and Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon earlier in October.

A standoff is also ensuing between Israel and Hamas, which it’s fighting in Gaza, with both signaling resistance to ending the war after the death of Hamas’ leader Yahya Sinwar this week.

On Friday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sinwar’s death was a painful loss but noted that Hamas carried on despite the killings of other Palestinian militant leaders before him.

“Hamas is alive and will stay alive,” Khamenei said.

Adam Schreck And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press