Drone launched toward Netanyahu residence in central Israel

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said a drone was launched toward his residence in Caesarea on Saturday, after the military reported a drone from Lebanon had "hit a structure" in the central Israeli town.

"A UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was launched toward the prime minister's residence in Caesarea. The prime minister and his wife were not at the location, and there were no injuries in the incident," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear whether the structure reported hit by the military earlier was his private residence.

The military said three drones had been fired from Lebanon on Saturday and it had intercepted two.

A barrage of projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Saturday, with sirens blaring across northern Israel at regular intervals.

Lebanese authorities meanwhile said two people were killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday in Jounieh, north of Beirut, in the first strike on the area since Hezbollah and Israel started trading fire last year.

The health ministry said an "Israeli enemy raid" hit a car in Jounieh, with Lebanese state media saying the attack occurred on a key highway linking the capital to the country's north.

Israel is fighting a war against Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, with Israel sending ground troops across the Lebanese border last month.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it had destroyed Hezbollah's regional command centre with an air strike.

Hezbollah announced early on Oct. 18 that the group is moving into “a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with Israel."

"Based on the directives of the Resistance command, the operations room of the Islamic Resistance announces the passage to a new phase of escalation in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy,” said the statement released on the group’s "War Media" Telegram channel.

“The developments and events of which will be announced in the coming days.”

The group said Israel's military losses have totaled 55 dead and more than 500 wounded soldiers and officers since the ground war in Lebanon began on Oct. 1.

On Oct. 18, the Israeli army issued a warning to residents of 23 villages in southern Lebanon, ordering them to evacuate their homes and move north of the Awali River.

Over 1.2 million people are reportedly currently displaced in Lebanon, fleeing Israeli attacks or obeying its orders to evacuate, or both. International observers have decried the situation, saying the orders may be war crimes, and that such a massive displacement threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.