Israel strikes Beirut, Gaza following drone attack on Netanyahu’s home

Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs and northern Gaza on Sunday, as cease-fire hopes dimmed further in Israel’s war against Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Israeli military is “working to destroy terrorist infrastructures of the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on X. The IDF said it aimed at Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters and an underground weapons workshop in Beirut.

The Israeli attacks came after some 70 rockets were launched at Israel from Lebanon, according to reports. Some of these were shot down, while several landed leading to fires, the IDF said.

This follows a drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in the northern Israeli town of Caesare on Saturday. Gideon Sa’ar, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said he holds Lebanon responsible for this attack.

“From the territory of a U.N. member state — Lebanon — an assassination attempt was made on the prime minister of Israel,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “The fact that these attacks were carried out by an Iranian branch  — Hezbollah  — does not absolve Lebanon of its responsibility.”

Netanyahu himself called it an assassination attempt and vowed there would be a “heavy price” for such attacks.

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

In the Gaza Strip, at least 87 people were killed in Israeli strikes on on the town of Beit Lahiya, according to the territory’s health minister.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on the strikes in Beit Lahiya, but said it was “continuing to operate across Gaza in both aerial strikes and ground operations,” according to an Associated Press report.

Tor Wennesland, the United Nation’s special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said on Sunday that “the nightmare in Gaza is intensifying” as the number of civilian casualities keeps rising. He said “humanitarian aid must be delivered unimpeded,” amid reports that not enough food is being let in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has been planning a reprisal attack on Iran for three weeks, after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at Israel at the beginning of October. U.S. intelligence reports detailing some of the Israeli preparations were leaked in recent days.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that Israel’s eventual military response to Iran would be lethal, precise and surprising.