Netanyahu says Iran tried to kill one of his sons, gives no details
Netanyahu told Channel 14 that Iran tried to kill one of his sons but refused to name the target; the protection deal with Shin Bet and its costs have become politically sensitive ahead of October 27.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran attempted to kill one of his sons but did not identify which son or provide further details, speaking in an interview with the pro-government Channel 14.
"Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to liquidate one of my sons," Netanyahu said in the interview. He declined to name the alleged target or to elaborate on the plot.
Security arrangements and media reports
Israeli outlets reported the case had been subject to censorship for months; Channel 12 said the alleged assassination plan had been known to Israeli security services for months. Netanyahu linked the disclosure to decisions about security for his family.
He defended the protective detail assigned to his family and framed it as necessary rather than excessive: "That's why the protection they have is not a luxury," he said, apparently referring to an agreement with the Shin Bet intelligence service to continue protection for his sons Yair and Avner and to provide lifelong protection for his wife Sara regardless of the outcome of the October 27 election.
The protection arrangement, reportedly reached in July, has attracted renewed attention in recent days after Shin Bet declined to provide bodyguards to Gadi Eizenkot, the leader of the Yashar party. Netanyahu told Channel 14 that without the assigned protection potential killers "would have succeeded."
According to media reporting in 2024, Yair Netanyahu has spent much of his time in Miami and lived in a luxury residential complex there with a personal chauffeur and two bodyguards from Shin Bet's elite Unit 730; that protection was estimated to cost the state about $55,000 per month. Avner Netanyahu lives in Israel.
The disclosures come amid ongoing regional violence: Israeli strikes on Gaza have continued, with reports that at least two people were killed in a recent attack, including a four-year-old child.
Photo: EPA-EFE/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
