Impact in the vicinity

Combat drones took aim at Netanyahu’s house

Netanyahu was targeted by the Hezbollah militia.(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/AMIR COHEN)

Three drones flew from Lebanon towards Caesarea in the center of Israel. One of them hit a residential building. According to the Israeli government, the attack was aimed at the property of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the authorities, there are no casualties. Netanyahu and his wife were not at home at the time of the attack. The property was apparently not directly hit and two of the three drones were intercepted.

The Israeli army announced on Saturday morning: "During the last hour, three drones were identified entering Israeli territory from Lebanon. One drone hit a building in the Caesarea area. No casualties were reported. During the incident, the sirens were activated at the Glilot military base. The presence of other hostile flying objects in the area can be ruled out."

Is anything moving in the Gaza Strip now?
Following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, there were recently vague hopes of a ceasefire for the entire region. However, this optimism only lasted a very short time. Following the news of the terrorist leader's death in the Gaza Strip, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia announced "a new phase of escalation".

Emergency forces near the Netanyahu residence(Bild: AP/Ariel Schalit)

Netanyahu described the killing of the mastermind of the October massacre as a milestone. "This is the beginning of the end of Hamas," said the Prime Minister in a video message to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

The deputy head of the Hamas politburo, Khalil al-Hayya, confirmed Sinwar's death on Friday. Al-Hayya went on to say that Hamas' conditions for a ceasefire and a hostage agreement remained unchanged: Israeli hostages would only be released if the Israeli army withdrew from the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel.

The Israeli government rejects a withdrawal of the army at the present time. Some relatives of the 101 hostages still held in the coastal strip expressed concern that Hamas could take revenge on the abductees for Sinwar's death.

More aid deliveries for shaken enclave
According to a media report, as a first step following Sinwar's death, Netanyahu has ordered a significant increase in the currently sparse flow of aid deliveries for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip. The public broadcaster Kan Radio reported that in future 250 trucks per day are to bring humanitarian goods to the completely destroyed coastal area on the Mediterranean.