Israeli police make arrests after flares fired at prime minister's private residence

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli police said Sunday that they have arrested three suspects after flares were fired at the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coastal city of Caesarea.

Authorities said the prime minister and his family were not at the residence when two flares were fired at it overnight, and there were no injuries.

The police did not provide details about the suspects, but officials pointed to domestic political critics of Netanyahu. Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the incident and warned against “an escalation of the violence in the public sphere.”

Netanyahu has faced months of mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis unleashed by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, which ignited the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Critics blame Netanyahu for the security and intelligence failures that allowed the attack to happen and for not reaching a deal with Hamas to release scores of hostages still held inside Gaza.

A drone launched by Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group struck Netanyahu's Caesarea residence last month, also when he and his family were away.

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