Israeli soldiers operate an unmanned aerial vehicle, manufactured by Elbit Systems. (Flash90/Miriam Alster)
Lebanon’s official news agency and a security official say the military has fired at two Israeli reconnaissance drones that they say violated Lebanese airspace.
By Associated Press
Lebanon’s National News Agency says the nation’s military fired on two Israeli drones on Wednesday night over the village of Odeisseh, near the border with Israel. It was not immediately clear whether any of the drones were shot down.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The incident came just days after an alleged Israeli drone crashed in a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut while another exploded and crashed nearby. The Lebanese group Hezbollah called it an act of aggression vowed to retaliate against the attack.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on Wednesday’s incident.
According to an account of the incident released by the Lebanese army, the first Israeli drone flew into Lebanese airspace near a village called Adaisseh, adjacent to the Israeli town Metulla, Times of Israel reported.
“The army confronted it and fired at it, forcing it to retreat,” said an LAF statement quoted by the Times.
Shortly thereafter, a second Israeli drone flew over Kafr Kila in Lebanon, and was also fired on by Lebanese troops.
The Lebanese army claimed all Israeli craft exited Lebanese airspace.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah ruled out a wider war with Israel, claiming it will carry out a surprise attack in retaliation for an alleged Israeli drone assault south of Beirut over the weekend.
Naim Kassem told Russia Today in an interview that aired late on Tuesday that Hezbollah will not be “intimidated by threats of war in order not to retaliate. There was an aggression and we said we will retaliate and this is what will happen.”
He refused to elaborate, saying that “we want the strike to be surprising and therefore, it is not in our interest to reveal more details.”
Kassem’s comments came just days after an alleged Israeli drone crashed in a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut while another exploded and crashed nearby.
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The Prime Minister’s Office declined to disclose further details about the meeting.
Smotrich said the campaign should target terrorists, weapons, tunnels and other infrastructure.