Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, announced on Sunday that it had used a surface-to-air missile to shoot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. This marks the first time the group has publicly acknowledged such an incident, and it occurred amidst escalating clashes on the Lebanese border. The drone was targeted near Khiam, approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Israeli border, and it was observed falling into Israeli territory, according to Hezbollah. This is the first instance of Hezbollah confirming the downing of an Israeli drone, as per two Lebanese security sources.
The Israeli Defense Ministry and military did not provide any comments on the matter. Meanwhile, Israel’s military claimed more strikes on what it referred to as Hezbollah targets on the same day but remained silent regarding the drone incident.
Mohanad Hage Ali from the Carnegie Middle East Center noted that while Hezbollah had implied possessing such capability before, this was the first time they officially declared their ability to shoot down a drone.
In another development, the United Nations’ Lebanon peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, reported that one of its members was injured when shells struck its base near the village of Houla on the Lebanese-Israeli border the previous day.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group in Lebanon, have been engaging in daily exchanges of fire since the outset of the Gaza conflict three weeks ago. On the same Sunday, the Israeli military reported that its troops had targeted a cell in southern Lebanon attempting to fire anti-tank missiles toward Israel. Additionally, Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in response to projectile launches from Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah stated that 46 of its fighters have been killed, and 43 have been injured in the border region so far, noting that it has carried out 84 attacks at 42 different points along the border since the clashes began. Israel’s military reported at least seven of its soldiers killed in the ongoing conflict.
UNIFIL also mentioned on Saturday that its headquarters near the Lebanese coastal town of Naqoura had sustained damage from a shell that landed inside the base. In response, UNIFIL expressed serious concern about these two attacks on their troops, who are working tirelessly to restore stability in southern Lebanon and de-escalate the dangerous situation.
Source: Reuters