Hezbollah made ‘grave mistake’ attacking his home, Netanyahu says

Israel News

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Israeli security forces at the scene where a drone fired from Lebanon caused damage in Caesarea, Oct. 19, 2024. Photo by Flash90.

A Hezbollah drone attack on his and his wife Sara Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea won’t budge the Jewish state from its mission, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday night.

“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake. This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing our just war against our enemies in order to secure our future,” the Israeli prime minister stated.

“I say to Iran and its proxies in its axis of evil: Anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price,” Netanyahu added. “We will continue to eliminate the terrorists and those who dispatch them. We will bring our hostages home from Gaza. And we will return our citizens who live on our northern border safely to their homes.”

It was not clear if the drone actually hit the house. The prime minister and his wife weren’t there at the time, per the Associated Press.

Lloyd Austin, the U.S. defense secretary, told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday that “he was relieved Prime Minister Netanyahu was safe after the attack that reportedly targeted his home in Caesarea this morning,” according to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote that he spoke with his “friend” Netanyahu on Saturday, “and I am happy to report he is safe, in good spirits and undeterred.”

“I told him America stands strong with Israel and reiterated our ongoing commitment to help counter Iran and its terrorist proxies,” the House speaker added. “This is a crucial moment and America must deliver. It is vital that the Biden-Harris administration stop slow-walking needed weapons to Israel and implement the sanctions on Iran that Congress enacted this spring.”

“Glad to hear this,” wrote Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), sharing Johnson’s message. “Keeping Benjamin Netanyahu in my prayers.”

“In light of this attempt on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s life, there should be no red lines on Israel’s response against the real perpetrator: Iran,” stated John Bolton, a former U.S. national security advisor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

WATCH: Dramatic footage of Sinwar’s elimination

Israel at War

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Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, at a rally in Gaza City marking the movement’s 35th anniversary, Dec. 14, 2022. Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90.

The IDF spokesperson unveiled new details and footage from the death in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, of Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas and the chief architect of the Oct. 7 massacre.

In a video, captured by an Israeli drone, shows Sinwar sitting on a couch inside a destroyed building. Upon noticing the drone hovering above him, Sinwar, who had lost a hand from earlier gunfire, throws a piece of wood at the drone in an effort to knock it down.

IDF soldiers at the scene of Sinwar’s elimination. Photo: Usage in accordance with Section 27A of the Copyright Law.

In his statement, the IDF spokesperson said: “For months, IDF and Shin Bet forces have been working to gather intelligence in order to eliminate Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization and one of the founders of its [Al-Qassam Brigades] ‘military’ wing. Sinwar had been hiding in an area our forces surrounded for an extended period.

“We didn’t know he was there, but we continued to act with determination. The forces found Sinwar with a [tactical] vest, a pistol and 40,000 shekels [nearly $11,000] in cash. He tried to flee, and our forces eliminated him.”

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s belongings when he died. Credit: IDF.

“There were no hostages with the terrorists we eliminated [Sinwar and two others, apparently his body guards],” the spokesperson clarified. “The forces are now scanning the area and are proceeding with the necessary caution.”

Regarding Sinwar’s earlier presence in the Rafah tunnel where the bodies of the six hostages, who were murdered in captivity, were discovered last month, he added: “After an investigation, we can confirm that Sinwar’s DNA was found in an underground tunnel, a few hundred meters from the tunnel where the hostages were killed.

“We had known Sinwar’s estimated location for some time despite the high level of secrecy that Hamas employed regarding his whereabouts,” military sources stated. “We knew he had been in Rafah, and we have been extracting information from underground tunnels there to understand where he was.”

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

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After a Year of War, Wounded Israeli Reservists Face Long Road to Recovery

Reuters and Algemeiner Staff

Aaron Bours, 34, an Israeli reservist and marketing manager who was severely wounded fighting in Gaza, participates in physical therapy as he recovers at Sheba Medical Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel September 23, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Ten months after he was shot in the leg by a sniper in Gaza, Israeli reservist Aaron Bours is walking on crutches and hoping to make a full recovery from the wound he sustained trying to rescue his officer in an ambush.

“There were bullets all around me,” Bours said.

Three hours after he was shot, he was in surgery at Sheba Medical center near Tel Aviv where doctors were able to save his leg. Long months of intense rehabilitation followed.

Some 300,000 reservists were called up at the beginning of the war and many have served for months on multiple tours. Their experience, and the experience of the families they left, will color attitudes in Israel for years to come.

As of September, more than 10,000 wounded soldiers have been treated by the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that triggered Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip.

More than two thirds of those treated have been reservists who returned to their military units from civilian life.

Just over a third are dealing with limb injuries, with the rest dealing with a variety of internal and spinal injuries, as well as eye, ear and head wounds that underscore the intense combat in the ruins of Gaza.

Israel Dudkiewicz, the doctor who runs the rehabilitation center at Sheba Medical Center, said the hospital understood on Oct. 7 that they would need to expand to receive an influx of wounded patients. With around a quarter of its staff called as reserves themselves, the hospital added beds and opened three new wings to treat the injured.

“I can’t say it wasn’t challenging,” said Dudkiewicz. “But in the end we were able to provide service.”

But the impact of serious injuries on reservists, who will return to civilian life when the fighting is over, will be felt for many years.

Yosi Sochr, 34, was severely wounded when an explosive device was detonated remotely. Doctors are still not sure if he will ever regain full use of his left arm and shoulder, which were hit by a piece of shrapnel.

So far he can move his hand but not the rest of his arm.

“It was hard,” said the reservist in the hospital bed next to his wife. “I’m not a 20-year-old kid. I have a whole world around me – when I just disappear, it’s felt.”

Sinwar, Hamas, have no intention of reaching hostage deal with Israel – NYT

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

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Illustrative image of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in front of an image depicting smoke rising after Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza. / (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Shutterstock, REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly seeks a wider regional war and has hardened his stance on a hostage deal, US officials told the New York Times on Saturday.

Sinwars’ attitude has “hardened in recent weeks,” US officials told NYT, and they believe that Hamas currently has no intention of reaching a hostage deal with Israel. 

These US officials said Hamas has not shown any engagement or desire to continue talks in recent weeks. 

According to reports, Sinwar believed that he would not survive the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, which has allegedly hindered talks to secure and finalize a hostage deal, NYT reported, citing US intelligence assessments. 

According to SInwar, a larger regional war that sees further pressure on Israel would force the IDF to limit operations in the Gaza Strip, the US officials said.

IDF tanks operate in the Gaza Strip. Photo published October 3, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

The NYT report also stated that the ongoing ground operations by Israel in Lebanon and Iran’s ballistic missile strike on Israel and cited the US officials as saying that the failure of Hezbollah or Iran to damage Israel is a sign of Sinwar’s miscalculation. 

The NYT reported that the US officials estimated Sinwar’s reported gambit was a miscalculation in light of the ongoing Israeli ground operations in Lebanon and the Iranian ballistic missile attack, which failed to inflict much damage on Israel.

US also seeks to hunt down Sinwar

As a result, US spy agencies have reportedly formed a targeting cell to study and hunt down Sinwar. The officials did not share what intelligence had been found but said that, in general, Sinwar has become less flexible in the negotiation process.

Earlier reports circulated by Israeli and global media questioned whether Sinwar is still alive, but officials have said that the rumors could not be confirmed, as much of the communication between Sinwar and Hamas has been reduced.

NYT stated that while Sinwar was hiding, he understood that the IDF was closing in on him.

The military came near his position in August, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that IDF soldiers had found signs that Sinar spent time in tunnels beneath Rafah, near the tunnels where the six hostages were murdered in August.