Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, confirmed on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest son, Yair Netanyahu, was urgently evacuated from the US back to Israel. According to Shin Bet, "there was a serious threat to the life of Yair Netanyahu," and after assessing the situation, a decision was made to "urgently evacuate him along with his security team and bring him back to Israel." The agency did not disclose the source of the threat.
Earlier, US broadcaster Newsmax reported that Yair Netanyahu was the target of an alleged assassination plot allegedly orchestrated by Iran last December while he was living in Florida. Israeli security officials, upon uncovering the plot, alerted US authorities. This information emerged after Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on Israel's Channel 14 that "Iran has targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, tried to assassinate one of my sons."
According to Newsmax, Yair Netanyahu, who is regularly protected by an Israeli security team, was ordered to leave the area immediately. He departed without taking personal belongings and returned to Israel shortly afterward.
Yair Netanyahu, a right-wing activist and podcast host, has lived in Florida for several years. The Times of Israel reported that his lavish lifestyle and state-funded security arrangements have repeatedly drawn public attention in Israel. His continued residence in the US following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has drawn criticism from many Israelis, who question the unfairness of Netanyahu's son being abroad while hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists were called up for duty. Yair Netanyahu is active on social media, frequently commenting on Israeli politics and attacking his father's political rivals, government critics, and journalists.
