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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran tried to assassinate one of his sons.
Getting into it: While speaking by phone with Channel 14, an outlet that leans right and covers his government kindly, Netanyahu made the claim in response to reports that Shin Bet chief David Zini had refused to assign a protective detail to his main rival, Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot.
“This is an unbelievable case. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said. Asked whether this came from intelligence briefings, he did not elaborate. “Iran tried to murder one of my sons. And this is why this promise [I am making] is more than a luxury – without it, they could succeed [in killing my son]. People need to show some restraint, especially during an election campaign,” he said. He added that he told Zini to arrange appropriate security for anyone running for prime minister.
He never said which son, when the plot happened, or how close it came. Israeli censors had kept a lid on the story for months, according to Hebrew media. Channel 12 said the security establishment has known about it for months and that it took place while Yair Netanyahu was outside Israel, without naming him as the intended target. Iran’s UN mission did not respond to a request for comment.
This all comes after Netanyahu was the target of an assassination attempt in October 2024, when Hezbollah launched three drones from Lebanon and one of them struck his private home in Caesarea. Two were intercepted over Rosh Hanikra and Nahariya. The third cracked a bedroom window without penetrating the house, thanks to reinforced glass, and scattered debris into the yard and pool. No sirens sounded in Caesarea before the impact, and the military investigated what appeared to be multiple failures in the warning system. Netanyahu and his wife Sara were not home.
