Fact Check: No, Yair Netanyahu was not assassinated in drone attack on Israeli PM’s home
Israeli PM’s private residence in the coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday morning
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 21 Oct 2024 12:08 PM GMT
Claim: Netanyahu’s son Yair was killed in a drone attack that targeted the Israeli PM’s home in Caesarea, Israel.
Fact: Netanyahu’s son Yair was killed in a drone attack that targeted the Israeli PM’s home in Caesarea, Israel.
Hyderabad: In a recent escalation in the Middle East, an Israeli operation killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, identified as the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks. Soon after, Hezbollah launched a drone attack targeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea, Israel, on Saturday.
Amid escalating tensions in the region, people began sharing images of Yair Netanyahu, the Israeli PM’s son, claiming that he has been assassinated.
An X user shared an image of Yair Netanyahu and his father and wrote, “Shin Bet confirms the assassination of Yair, Netanyahu’s younger son, in Caesarea. (sic)”
Similar posts can be seen here, here and here. (Archive), (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
A keyword search led us to a report by BBC titled, ‘Netanyahu says he is undeterred after reported drone attack on his home’, dated October 20, 2024.
According to the report, a drone was used to target the Israeli PM’s private residence in the coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday morning. Neither Netanyahu nor his wife were present, and no injuries were reported.
Further, we found another report by the Times of Israel titled: ‘Israel vows Iran will ‘pay’ for Hezbollah attack on Netanyahu home; Tehran distances itself’, dated October 20, 2024. No casualties were reported.
According to the report, on Saturday morning, three drones were allegedly deployed from Lebanon in an assault aimed at the prime minister’s private home. Two of them were stopped near Rosh Hanikra and Nahariya, while the third detonated in Caesarea, a coastal town famous for its luxury homes and ancient Roman remains. At the time, the prime minister and his wife were away from the residence.
We found similar updates in reports by India TV, Mint and India Today. None of them mentioned any casualties.
Further, we checked Yair’s social media handles and analysed his online activity. We found that Yair Netanyahu's account is active on X. His latest activity was seen on October 21 with a repost of an interview of a Hezbollah leader.
We also found Yair’s Instagram account. Although his last post was on October 7, he shared his latest status 10 hours ago. We checked Yair’s Facebook account; his last activity was on October 8.
Hence, the claim that the Hezbollah drone attack on the Israeli PM’s home in Caesarea killed his son Yair Netanyahu is false.
