Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, promised his country would not be deterred after a Hezbollah drone hit his holiday house on Saturday.
The drone caused little damage to his residence in the coastal city of Cesearea, and both he and his wife were out when it struck, Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
But the attack marked the first time a target directly affiliated with the Israeli leader had been hit since the start of the war.
Israeli security officials described the incident as a worrying breach of the nation’s defences. The Iron Dome, which Israel relies upon to shoot down barrages of missiles from Gaza and Lebanon, is less effective against slow, low-flying drones.
After news of the strike broke, Mr Netanyahu released a video in which he walks casually through a field.
“Prime minister, how is it going?” the cameraman asks.
He responds: “Well two days ago we took out Yahya Sinwar – the terrorist mastermind whose goons beheaded our men, raped our women, burnt babies alive – we took him out.
“We’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies – we’re going to win this war.”
Barak Ravid/X
Sinwar, thought to be the architect of Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks, was shot in the head and killed on Wednesday during a chance encounter with Israeli troops.
“So will something deter you?” Mr Netanyahu is asked in the video, making no direct reference to the drone strike.
“No,” he replies.
Analysts believe the drone may have been a Sayyad-107, which was also used to hit the training base of the Golani Brigade in Binyamina.
Meanwhile, a barrage of at least 115 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Saturday as Israeli emergency services said one man, around 50 years old, was killed by shrapnel.
A car also smashed into an Israeli police vehicle near Ofra, in the West Bank, according to footage shared by the Israeli government. The driver died but no officers were injured.
The attacks came as Israel dropped leaflets over southern Gaza showing a picture of the slain Hamas chief Sinwar with the message: “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza.”
“Whoever drops their weapon and hands over the hostages will be allowed to leave and live in peace,” the leaflet read in Arabic, according to residents of the southern city of Khan Younis.
IDF strikes killed at least 32 people across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, and the army tightened its siege around hospitals to the north of the enclave in Jabalia, the Hamas-run health service reported.
The Middle East continues to nervously await Israel’s retaliation to Iran’s attack in early October, in which Tehran launched more than 180 missiles in response to Israeli assassinations of senior Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders.
However, Joe Biden, the US president, said on Friday that he now has a good understanding of how and when Israel plan to respond to the ballistic missile attack.
Pushed by reporters on the prospect of “Middle East peace”, Mr Biden said he sees an “opportunity…that we can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that ends the conflict for a while… stops the back and forth”.
Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister responded to the comments on Saturday, saying anyone who knows “how and when Israel will attack Iran” should be held accountable.
On Saturday, a US intelligence assessment of Israel’s preparations for its coming strike on Iran were leaked online by a Telegram channel linked to Iran.
The US Department of Defense did not deny the document’s authenticity when approached by Israeli media and a senior Israeli official told Walla News that the security establishment was taking the leak very seriously.
Israel could also use the body of Sinwar, which is being held at a secret location, as a “bargaining chip” to exchange for the release of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas, sources also said.
Israeli sources told CNN that hostage releases were likely to be the main priority in any discussions over how to leverage custody of his remains.
More than 100 people taken during Hamas’ Oct 7 attacks remain in captivity in Gaza and Mr Netanyahu is under intense domestic pressure to get them back.
“If Hamas wants to swap his remains for Israelis, dead or alive, then fine,” an Israeli diplomatic source said.
Daniel Birnbaum, the former CEO of SodaStream, offered $100,000 to anyone who returns an Israelis hostage alive on Saturday.
Mr Netanyahu promised that any Hamas terrorists who hand over Israeli captives will be allowed to leave Gaza alive.
05:03 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thank you for following our live coverage. The key developments from the day were:
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not be deterred after a Hezbollah drone hit his holiday house.
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza today showing a picture of the dead Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar with the message that “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza”.
An adviser to Al-Qaeda’s likely current leader is calling for Hamas to release its Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, responding to comments by US President Joe Biden, said on Saturday anyone who knows “how and when Israel will attack Iran” should be held accountable.
Relatives of hostages and anti-government activists called on the public to join their weekly rally calling for a hostage-ceasefire deal. “No more excuses!” they wrote on social media.
Lebanon state media said five people including a mayor were killed on Saturday in an Israeli strike on a town in the eastern Bekaa Valley region.
The Israeli military called on residents to leave parts of southern Beirut, a warning usually followed by strikes on those areas of the Lebanese capital.
The Israeli army said at least 115 projectiles were fired on Saturday from Lebanon.
Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and Gaza are pushing Iran to take “legitimate steps”, Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday, in an apparent show of support for Tehran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel.
Israel could use the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a “bargaining chip” to exchange for the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, according to sources.
Naval drills hosted by Iran with the participation of Russia and Oman, and observed by nine other countries, began in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, Iran’s state TV said.
04:30 PM BST
Around 20,000 people fled Jabalia on Friday
Unwra, the UN’s largest aid agency in Gaza, said that 20,000 people fled Jabalia on Friday.
“People lost everything. They need everything including food, water, blankets and mattresses: the basic of the basic,” Unrwa’s commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X.
He also reported a critical shortage of fuel and medical supplies in the area’s remaining hospitals.
“It’s time to end the war & show political will,“ he said.
04:05 PM BST
Gaza officials accuse Israeli forces of attacking hospital
Gaza health officials said Israeli forces surrounded and shelled the Indonesian Hospital in the territory’s northern town of Beit Lahia at dawn on Saturday, while the military reported troops were operating near the facility.
“Israeli tanks have completely surrounded the hospital, cut off electricity and shelled the hospital, targeting the second and third floors with artillery,” said the facility’s director, Marwan Sultan.
“There are serious risks to medical staff and patients.”
In a statement, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry also said Israel had targeted the upper floors, adding there were “more than 40 patients and wounded in addition to the medical staff” present.
“Heavy gunfire” towards the hospital and its courtyard had sparked a “state of great panic” amongst patients and staff, it added.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said its troops were operating near the Indonesian Hospital.
“The troops operating in the area have been trained for the operational activity and briefed on the importance of mitigating harm to civilians and medical infrastructure,” the military said.
“It is emphasised that the hospital continues to operate without disruption and in full capacity, and there was no intentional fire directed at it.”
03:42 PM BST
Israel drops leaflets over Gaza showing dead Hamas chief
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza today showing a picture of the dead Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar with the message that “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza”.
“Whoever drops the weapon and hands over the hostages will be allowed to leave and live in peace,” the leaflet, written in Arabic, read, according to residents of the southern city of Khan Younis and images circulating online.
The leaflet’s wording was from a statement by Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday after Sinwar was killed by Israeli soldiers operating in Rafah, in the south near the Egyptian border, on Wednesday.
02:56 PM BST
Al-Qaeda adviser urges release of Israeli hostages in Gaza
An adviser to Al-Qaeda’s likely current leader is calling for Hamas to release its Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to an American jihadist monitoring organisation, SITE.
The online declaration was made Friday by Mustafa Hamid, also known as Abu Walid al-Masri, who is father-in-law to Saif al-Adel, the man widely believed to now head Al-Qaeda, according to SITE.
In it, Mr Hamid claimed the attention given to recovering the Israeli hostages, both dead and alive, was overshadowing the fate of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.
Hamas must now “immediately” return the hostages and their bodies, and “this file must be closed and not opened again, as we know its consequences,” according to the statement.
“No one cares about the Palestinian prisoners, neither in the media, in negotiations, nor in demonstrations,” it said.
02:54 PM BST
Israel says police targeted in ‘ramming attack’
Israel/X
A car smashed into an Israeli police vehicle near Ofra, in the West Bank on Saturday, according to footage shared by the Israeli government.
No police officers were injured and the driver died.
“Earlier today, a Palestinian terrorist attempted a violent attack by accelerating towards a police vehicle. The attempt ended in failure, as the terrorist’s actions resulted in his own death,” said a post by Israel on social media.
Moments before the car hit the vehicle, a police officer can be seen leaving the vehicle.
02:20 PM BST
‘No more excuses,’ say hostage families
Relatives of hostages and anti-government activists have called on the public to join their weekly rally calling for a hostage-ceasefire deal.
“No more excuses!” wrote the “Kulanu Hatufim” (“We are all hostages”) group in a social media post.
“Over the past year, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has torpedoed a deal dozens of times to extend his rule. Too many hostages have died, while others are currently enduring severe torture and their lives are in grave danger.”
“Now that [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar has been eliminated there are no more excuses – it’s time for a deal!”
The rally is set to begin at 7pm.
01:56 PM BST
Lebanon security source says Israel strikes south Beirut
At least two Israeli airstrikes hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Saturday, a Hezbollah stronghold, a security source told AFP.
AFP footage showed plumes of smoke rising over the area, less than an hour after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order.
01:43 PM BST
Gaza rescuers say over 400 killed in past two weeks in Israel assault on territory’s north
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency said Saturday more than 400 Palestinians were killed in the north of the territory over the past two weeks during an ongoing military assault Israel says is aimed at preventing Hamas militants from regrouping.
“We have recovered more than 400 martyrs from the various targeted areas in the northern Gaza Strip, including Jabalia and its camp, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, since the start of the military operation by the occupation army” on October 6, said its spokesman, Mahmud Bassal.
01:30 PM BST
Lebanon media says mayor amongst 4 killed in Israeli strike in east
Lebanon state media said four people including a mayor were killed on Saturday in an Israeli strike on a town in the eastern Bekaa Valley region.
The strike hit a residential building in the town of Baaloul, killing four, the official National News Agency said, adding that the dead include Haidar Shahla, the mayor of the nearby town of Sohmor.
01:13 PM BST
Israel calls on residents in southern Beirut to evacuate
The Israeli military has called on residents to leave parts of southern Beirut, a warning usually followed by strikes on those areas of the Lebanese capital.
“Urgent warning to residents of the southern suburb (of Dahiyeh), specifically those in …Haret Hreik neighbourhood: You are located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, against which the IDF (Israeli military) will be operating in the near future,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote in Arabic on X.
12:54 PM BST
In pictures
12:41 PM BST
Hamas leader’s killing opens ‘new perspective’ for ceasefire, says Josep Borrell
European Commission vice-president Josep Borrell said on Saturday the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar opened a “new perspective” for a ceasefire in Gaza, reports Agence France-Presse.
“Certainly after the killing of Yahya Sinwar a new perspective is open and we have to use it in order to reach a ceasefire, to release the remaining hostages and to look for a political perspective,” Mr Borrell told journalists on the sidelines of a G7 defence summit.
12:29 PM BST
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 42,519
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday that at least 42,519 people have been killed in the war, although the toll did not incorporate a strike that killed 33 people overnight.
The toll includes 19 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 99,637 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
12:01 PM BST
Watch: Netanyahu responds to attack on house
Netanyahu has said nothing would deter Israel after a Hezbollah drone targeted his holiday home on Saturday.
The Israeli prime minister released a video in which he is walking casually through a field in the sun, celebrating the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Barak Ravid/X
“Prime minister, how is it going?” he is asked by the cameraman.
“Well two days ago we took out Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist mastermind whose goons beheaded our men, raped our women, burnt babies alive, we took him out,” he said.
“We’re continuing our battle with Iran’s other terrorist proxies – we’re going to win this war,” he added, pointing to the camera.
“So will something deter you?” he is then asked. “No,” he replied.
The video is shot in a similar style to those of a popular internet trend, in which celebrities answer questions while giving a tour of their homes.
11:57 AM BST
Israel army says at least 115 projectiles fired from Lebanon on Saturday
The Israeli army said at least 115 projectiles were fired on Saturday from Lebanon targeting the country amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The projectiles were fired mainly into northern Israel, with sirens blaring across the region at regular intervals. AFP compiled the figure of projectiles based on a series of statements released by the Israeli army on Saturday.
11:36 AM BST
Israeli rescuers say one killed by shrapnel after rocket fire from Lebanon
Israeli emergency services said a man was killed by shrapnel near the port city of Acre on Saturday after a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.
“Paramedics have pronounced the death of a man, around 50 years old, who was struck by shrapnel while sitting in his vehicle,” the Magen David Adom emergency service said in a statement.
11:27 AM BST
Hezbollah drone attack ‘very serious security failure’
The Israeli Army Radio, citing a military source, said that he security services’ failure in Hezbollah’s Kamikaze UAV reaching Caesarea is a “very serious security failure”.
Israeli Army Radio, citing a military source:
The security services’ failure in Hezbollah kamikaze UAV reaching Caesarea is a “very serious security failure”.
We are investigating the security gaps that allowed the UAV to reach Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea. https://t.co/6XSYftKi0v
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 19, 2024
10:41 AM BST
Drone launched towards Netanyahu’s weekend villa
Twitter/X
10:37 AM BST
Gaza civil defence agency says Israeli strike kills 33 in Jabalia
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency said an Israeli strike near Jabalia in the territory’s north killed 33 people at a refugee camp overnight from Friday to Saturday.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal announced “33 deaths and dozens of wounded”, while a medical source at the Al-Awda hospital told AFP that it had registered 22 dead and 70 wounded after the strike on the Tal al-Zaatar camp for Palestinian refugees.
10:21 AM BST
Turkey says Israel actions pushing Iran to take ‘legitimate steps’
Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and Gaza are pushing Iran to take “legitimate steps”, Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday, in an apparent show of support for Tehran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel.
“Israel’s aggressive stance is forcing Iran to take legitimate steps,” Hakan Fidan said at a joint press conference in Istanbul with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
10:13 AM BST
Hezbollah says launched rockets north of Israel’s Haifa
Hezbollah said it fired rockets on Saturday towards a region north of Israel’s Haifa in response to Israeli attacks on its strongholds in southern Lebanon.
“The large rocket salvo” came in retaliation for Israeli attacks on south Lebanon villages, Hezbollah announced after the Israeli army said a barrage of projectiles was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, with sirens blaring at regular intervals.
10:04 AM BST
Israel could use body of Sinwar as a ‘bargaining chip’
Ben Farmer reports
Israel could use the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a “bargaining chip” to exchange for the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
The 61-year-old’s remains are being held in a secret location in Israel after he was killed on Wednesday during a chance encounter with Israeli troops.
Israeli sources told CNN that hostage releases were likely to be the main priority in any discussions over how to leverage custody of his remains.
More than 100 hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct 7attacks remain in captivity in Gaza and Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense domestic political pressure to get them back.
“If Hamas wants to swap his remains for Israelis, dead or alive, then fine,” an Israeli diplomatic source said.
09:54 AM BST
Iran hosts joint naval drills with Russia and Oman in Indian Ocean
Naval drills hosted by Iran with the participation of Russia and Oman, and observed by nine other countries, began in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, Iran’s state TV said.
The exercises, dubbed “IMEX 2024”, are aimed at boosting “collective security in the region, expand multilateral cooperation, and display the goodwill and capabilities to safeguard peace, friendship and maritime security”, the channel said.
Participants would practice tactics to ensure international maritime trade security, protect maritime routes, enhance humanitarian measures and exchange information on rescue and relief operations, it said.
In response to regional tensions with the United States, Iran has increased its military cooperation with Russia and China.
In March, Iran, China and Russia held their fifth joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman. Countries observing the current drills include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand.
09:42 AM BST
Pictures of the day
09:27 AM BST
Sinwar’s death clouds path to freeing Israeli hostages
Slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was seen as a key obstacle to any agreement on the Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 attack that he orchestrated.
With his group plunged into a leadership vacuum by his death, the future of hostage negotiations appears to have become even more complicated.
Hamas now needs to appoint a replacement, and that person will play a key role in determining the fate of the Israelis kept hostage since its attack on October 7, 2023.
Of the 251 hostages taken to the Gaza Strip that day, 97 are still being held there, including 34 who the Israeli army has confirmed are dead.
Negotiations for their release are led by Israel’s intelligence services, with the help of the United States, Egypt and Qatar But that task will be no easier with Sinwar gone, analysts said.
“The hostages’ fate may now be sealed for the simple reason that there is no one left to negotiate their release,” said Karim Mezran, a Middle East expert at the Atlantic Council think tank.
US intelligence believed “Sinwar’s stance had hardened in recent weeks, leading American negotiators to believe that Hamas was no longer interested in reaching a ceasefire or hostage agreement,” said the New York-based Soufan Center.
So “any forthcoming negotiations can also serve as a litmus test for Hamas’s operational capacity in the post-Sinwar era,” the think tank added.
09:22 AM BST
Iran’s supreme leader says Hamas leader’s death will not halt ‘Axis of Resistance’
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar will not halt the “Axis of Resistance” and that Hamas would live on.
“His loss is undoubtedly painful for the Axis of Resistance, but this front did not cease advancing with the martyrdom of prominent figures,” Mr Khamenei said. “Hamas is alive and will remain alive.”
Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, was killed on Wednesday in a gunfight with Israeli forces after a year-long manhunt, and his death was announced on Thursday.
“He was a shining face of resistance and struggle. With a steely resolve, he stood against the oppressive and aggressive enemy. With wisdom and courage, he dealt them the irreparable blow of October 7 that has been recorded in the history of this region. Then, with honor and pride, he ascended to the heavens of the martyrs,” said Mr Khamenei.
The “Axis of Resistance”, built up with years of Iranian support, includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various Shi’ite groups in Iraq and Syria. The groups describe themselves as the resistance to Israel and US influence in the Middle East.
“As always, we will remain by the side of the sincere fighters and combatants, by God’s grace and help,” Mr Khamenei said.
09:07 AM BST
Iran’s says anyone who knows ‘how and when Israel will attack Iran’ should be held accountable
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, responding to comments by US President Joe Biden, said on Saturday anyone who knows “how and when Israel will attack Iran” should be held accountable.
Mr Araqchi said on social media: “Anybody with knowledge or understanding of ‘how and when Israel was going to attack Iran’, and/or providing the means and backing for such folly, should logically be held accountable for any possible causality.”
Speaking to reporters at the end of a visit to Berlin on Friday Mr Biden said he had an understanding of how and when Israel was going to retaliate against missile attacks by Iran.
09:04 AM BST
Lebanon says two killed in Israel strike north of Beirut
Lebanese authorities said two people were killed in an Israeli strike in Jounieh, north of Beirut, the first attack on the area since Hezbollah and Israel started trading fire last year.
The strike occurred on the highway connecting Beirut to the country’s north, state media said. The health ministry said an Israeli raid killed two people.
The official National News Agency said a man and his wife were killed in a drone strike on their four-wheel drive.
They were killed in a field adjacent to the road after fleeing an initial strike near their vehicle, NNA said. It did not identify them.
Jounieh, a Christian-majority town, has not been hit since Israel and Hezbollah started exchanging cross-border fire over the Gaza war last year.
