Hezbollah claims drone attack on Netanyahu’s home in northern Israel

ISTANBUL

The Lebanese group Hezbollah claimed responsibility on Tuesday for last week’s drone attack on the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea in northern Israel.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif said the group was “fully and exclusively responsible” for the Oct. 19 attack that targeted the home of “war criminal and leader of Zionist fascism Netanyahu.”

Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister and his family were not at the site at the time of the attack.

"Israel does not adhere to the ethics of war, and we hold it responsible for the safety of our prisoners in its custody,” said Afif.

He called the US “a partner in the Israeli aggression” against Lebanon and “is fully responsible for the massacres targeting our people.”

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon since Sept. 23 against what it says are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza.

Nearly 2,500 people have been killed and more than 11,600 others injured in Israeli attacks since last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 this year by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala