Israel says Netanyahu’s son ‘urgently evacuated’ from the US after threat

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest son was flown back to Israel from the United States after a threat to his life, according to Israel's domestic intelligence agency.

Key points

• His continued residency in the US after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel provoked criticism from plenty of Israelis.
• While he was living in Florida, US broadcaster Newsmax documented earlier this week that Yair Netanyahu was the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot last December.
• The report surfaced after Benjamin Netanyahu informed Israel's Channel 14 that Iran targeted one of my sons.
• Yair Netanyahu, who was constantly accompanied by an Israeli security team, was ordered to leave the area immediately, Newsmax documented.
• The right-wing activist and podcaster is active on social media, frequently commenting on Israeli politics and attacking his father's political opponents, administration critics and journalists.

Meanwhile, the Shin Bet remarked in an official note on Saturday evening that, "there was a significant threat to harm Yair Netanyahu, and in light of this and after an assessment, a decision was made to urgently evacuate him along with his security team and return him to Israel". The agency did not specify the source of the threat.

Israeli intelligence informed US authorities after it had learned of the alleged plot, the broadcaster documented, citing a US law enforcement official.

In practice, the report surfaced after Benjamin Netanyahu informed Israel's Channel 14 that "Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons".

Yair Netanyahu, who was constantly accompanied by an Israeli security team, was ordered to leave the area immediately, Newsmax documented. He left without taking his personal belongings and returned directly to Israel.

Netanyahu's eldest son has lived in Florida for a number of years, where his "reportedly luxurious lifestyle and the state-funded security provided to him repeatedly drew public attention in Israel", noted The Times of Israel.

His continued residency in the US after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel provoked criticism from plenty of Israelis. They questioned the double standard of Netanyahu's son remaining overseas while hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists were called up, the Israeli newspaper documented.

For context, the right-wing activist and podcaster is active on social media, frequently commenting on Israeli politics and attacking his father's political opponents, administration critics and journalists.

Taken together, the developments around israel says Netanyahu's son 'urgently evacuated' from the US after threat point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.