The Israeli army announced that a drone coming from Lebanon hit a facility today, Saturday, near the coastal city of Caesarea, while two other drones were intercepted. The army stated that the drone "hit a facility near Caesarea" in central Israel without causing injuries, adding that it intercepted two other drones.

The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" reported that the target of the Caesarea drone attack was the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amid the ongoing military escalation since last September in Lebanon, "Hezbollah" announced the launch of drones at a military base in central Israel.

The Iran-aligned group said in a statement that its members carried out an operation launching "a swarm of attacking drones at the Ein Shimer base (a missile defense and regional brigade base) east of Hadera (...) in response to the targeting of civilians and in defense of Lebanon and its people."

The party also announced today, Saturday, the launch of "rockets" at Haifa in northern Israel, in addition to a "rocket barrage" targeting areas in the north of the coastal city.

For his part, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi, said in comments published by the army yesterday, Friday, that Israel estimates the number of casualties from the "Hezbollah" group to be about 1500 men.

Halevi told ground forces in southern Lebanon, "There are severe damages, and a complete leadership sequence is being eliminated, and (Hezbollah) is hiding its dead and its dead leaders. We estimate that we have killed about 1500 members of 'Hezbollah', and our estimates are conservative, and I assume there are more that we do not know, (killed) in many airstrikes."

Israel intensified its airstrikes on the party's strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut and southern and eastern Lebanon on September 23, before announcing at the end of that month the start of ground incursion operations across the border.

Mikati condemns "blatant interference" in Lebanese affairs

The Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned on Friday "blatant interference" in Lebanese affairs following comments attributed to an Iranian official about his country's readiness to negotiate with France for a ceasefire in Lebanon. Mikati requested the Lebanese Foreign Minister to summon the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Beirut.

This stance is rare on the official level in Lebanon for years, amidst the control of the Iran-backed "Hezbollah" over political decision-making, and amid institutional paralysis and a political crisis resulting from deep divisions in the country.

Mikati said in a statement issued by his office, "We are astonished by this position, which constitutes blatant interference in Lebanese affairs, and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon."

The statement indicated that Mikati requested "Foreign Minister and Expatriates Abdullah Bou Habib to summon the chargé d'affaires of the Iranian embassy in Beirut and inquire from him about the statements of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf."

The French newspaper "Le Figaro" quoted the Iranian Parliament Speaker as saying that Tehran is ready to negotiate with Paris regarding the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 in Lebanon and a ceasefire.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced that it summoned, at Mikati's request, the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Lebanon, Maitham Qahramani, to discuss the content of Qalibaf's statements.