A drone was launched toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea as about 200 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel on October 19, 2024, according to Israeli authorities. Netanyahu and his wife were not at the residence, and no casualties were reported there. Officials did not immediately clarify whether the building itself had been struck.
The wider barrage killed a 50-year-old man who was hit by shrapnel in northern Israel and wounded four other people, Israel’s medical services said. Hezbollah announced several rocket attacks but did not initially claim responsibility for the drone directed toward Caesarea. The Lebanese armed group had said a day earlier that it was entering a new phase of fighting involving more guided missiles and explosive drones.
The attack came during a widening confrontation following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in September and Israel’s deployment of ground forces into Lebanon in October. It also occurred as Israel prepared a response to an Iranian attack earlier that month. Iran supports both Hezbollah and Hamas.
Israel answered with at least 10 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area known as Dahiyeh where Hezbollah maintains offices. The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah targets. In Lebanon, the state news agency reported that an Israeli strike on an apartment in the eastern village of Baaloul killed five people, including the mayor of nearby Sohmor. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said another strike on a vehicle north of Beirut killed two people.
The Israeli military also said it killed Nasser Rashid, whom it described as Hezbollah’s deputy commander in Bint Jbeil and a supervisor of attacks against Israel. The reporting did not include an independent confirmation of that claim.
The expanding exchanges prompted renewed international concern. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said civilian casualties in Lebanon were too high and urged Israel to reduce some attacks, particularly in and around Beirut. Group of Seven defence ministers warned against escalation into a full regional war, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described that possibility as a serious concern.
More than one million people in Lebanon, including about 400,000 children, had been displaced during the conflict. The October 19 attacks showed the breadth of the confrontation: rockets and drones reaching northern and central coastal Israel, Israeli strikes extending across Lebanon, and regional powers warning that the cycle could spread further.
