IDF says it downed a Hezbollah drone that crossed border

The unarmed drone was likely engaged in surveillance when IDF brought it down. 

By Associated Press

Israel downed an unarmed Hezbollah drone that crossed the border from Lebanon, the army said Thursday.

In a statement, the army said it downed the small copter mode drone after it crossed the border into Israeli airspace. The incident on Wednesday was the latest uptick in activity along Israel’s northern border. The IDF said the drone was not armed and likely engaged in surveillance.

The IDF said it had monitored the drone the entire time before bringing it down. The military didn’t indicate how it brought down the drone.

Last week, the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group claimed responsibility for firing 19 rockets toward Israel. That was preceded by a rocket attack launched from Lebanese territory, though it remained unclear by whom. Israel responded with artillery and rare airstrikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he holds the Lebanese government responsible for attacks launched from Lebanon toward Israel, no matter by whom.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said he’d retaliate against any future Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and added it would be wrong to assume Hezbollah would be constrained by internal divisions in Lebanon or the country’s harsh economic crisis.

Lebanon is experiencing its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, which the World Bank describes as among the worst the world has witnessed since the mid 1800s.

Israel estimates that Hezbollah possesses over 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking anywhere in the country. In recent years, Israel launched air strikes on weapons storage sites to prevent Iran from transferring precision-guided missiles to the Lebanese terror group.

On a number of occasions, the IDF has intercepted drones belonging to Hezbollah and Iran that crossed into Israel from the north.

World Israel News staff contributed to this report.