GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 379

It’s Getting Ugly

Trying To Assassinate Netanyahu

A drone meant to kill Prime Minister Netanyahu actually hit his home, but failed to kill him as we read in a report from The Times Of Israel:

A drone fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon that exploded in the central seaside town of Caesarea early on Saturday targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home, his office said.

Netanyahu and his wife weren’t home when it hit:

The premier and his wife were not present and no injuries were reported.

The PMO issued an announcement about the strike which didn’t address if any damage was done:

The short statement from Netanyahu’s office came after the IDF said that “a building had been hit” in the upscale town famous for its swanky villas and Roman ruins and amphitheater.

It was not immediately clear if the prime minister’s home suffered any damage.

The PM then responded:

On Saturday evening Netanyahu said in a statement: “The agents of Iran who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake.” He said the attack would not deter him from continuing the war, and that anyone who harms Israelis will pay “a heavy price.”

“We will continue to eliminate your terrorists, we will return our hostages from Gaza, we will return our residents in the north,” he promised.

It’s troubling that the drone even got close to Netanyahu’s home without detection:

An Axios report said that the drone hit the prime minister’s house. “This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit,” it reported, without elaboration.

The IDF is looking into how the drone made it to the home of the PM:

The IDF said the drone was one of three launched from Lebanon, and that the other two were shot down.

The military said it was investigating the incident that apparently saw several failures of Israel’s warning system.

No warning sirens were sounded in Caesarea ahead of the drone impact and explosion.

While the reason why this drone and a previous one wasn’t taken down earlier is being investigated, the IDF went after the area it came from:

Footage posted to social media appeared to show attack helicopters in the air that were apparently hunting the drone further to the north.

Strangely other drones did trigger sirens:

However, sirens did sound in Glilot north of Tel Aviv, which houses a major IDF intelligence base and the Mossad headquarters. Those sirens were not accompanied by warnings on the Home Front Command’s app or other platforms.

The drones and the interceptions also triggered warning sirens down Israel’s coast in the minutes ahead of the impact.

Residents Weren’t Warned

Some in Caesarea didn’t know what was happening until the after the attacks occurred:

“We heard helicopters above us and there was a feeling that there was some sort of incident but there were no sirens so we were not too worried,” one Caesarea resident told Channel 12. “But then suddenly a large explosion was heard and it was not clear to us if it was from an interception or a drone impact — but it was clear that it was a real incident with no prior warning.”

“It was very worrying; luckily, there are no casualties,” he said.

Ofek Mor, another resident, told Ynet of hearing the drone overhead.

“Suddenly we heard a buzzing sound, it was not clear what was happening, then there was a huge explosion, very strong,” he said. “It is walking distance from my house, we got here and very quickly we understood what had happened.”

The PM was defiant when he learned of the attacks:

In a pair of videos posted in Hebrew and English to social media after his home in Caesarea was targeted, Netanyahu insisted that “nothing will deter” him, and that Israel is “going to win this war.”

The rare video statements, released on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, did not directly mention the drone attack.

A video posted on various social media sites give us an expanded version of the PM’s comments:

Filmed while walking through a sunny park, wearing sunglasses and a black polo shirt, Netanyahu said in Hebrew, “You know, two days ago we eliminated the mass murder [Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar, as I’ve said, we’re in an existential war, and we’re continuing to the end.”

“And I want to say something else, I’m proud of our soldiers, I’m proud of our commanders, and I’m proud of you, the citizens of Israel,” he added.

Netanyahu then spoke in English about the attack:

In the English version, Netanyahu called Sinwar “the terrorist mastermind whose goons beheaded our men, raped our women and burned babies alive.”

“We took him out,” the prime minister says, “and we’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies.”

When asked if the attack would deter him, the PM simply and tersely said “No” and walked away.

Leaked Plans

If anyone wonders why Israel doesn’t always tell the US of their plans ahead of time an article from The Jerusalem Post shows you why:

Senior American officials voiced serious concern on Saturday following the leak of two US intelligence documents allegedly outlining Israel’s preparations for a potential strike on Iran. These documents were published by a Telegram account linked to Iran.

The US didn’t answer questions about the leaked plans:

While both the US Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the leaked documents, they did not deny their authenticity.

From the Israeli perspective, they are taking the news very gravely:

The timing of the leak comes as Israel is completing preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran in response to the October 1 missile attack. An unnamed senior Israeli official remarked, “Israel’s defense establishment is aware of the leak and takes it very seriously.”

The leak was published by an Iranian social media account that is often used to publish misinformation:

The leak occurred on Friday when the Middle East Spectator Telegram channel claimed it had received documents about Israel’s strike preparations from a source within the US intelligence community. This Telegram channel is known for publishing pro-Iranian propaganda, and its associated Twitter account states that its operators are based in Iran.

The details were specific:

The documents included an alleged report from the US Department of Defense's visual intelligence agency, which had been circulated within the US intelligence community three days earlier. The report detailed alleged recent actions at Israel Air Force (IAF) bases, including the movement of advanced munitions believed to be intended for a strike on Iran. The report also noted that intelligence obtained through wiretaps indicated that the IAF conducted an exercise this week involving fighter jets and drones as part of its strike preparations.

The leak also makes the US look bad since the information came directly from them and then got into Iranian hands:

The leaked documents reportedly revealed close surveillance by US intelligence on Israel’s preparations for a strike on Iran, including the use of satellites to monitor activities at Israeli Air Force bases. The alleged leak also highlights a severe security breach within the US intelligence community, allowing highly classified information to reach entities affiliated with Iran.

For their part, the US is taking this security breach to heart, but they don’t think it will alter the Israelis plans:

American officials described the incident as "extremely serious" but noted that, in their view, the leak is unlikely to affect Israel’s operational plans.