Hezbollah fighters down Israeli drone in southern Lebanon
Fighters from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone, which was hovering over the southern part of Lebanon in violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.
Hezbollah said in a brief statement carried by Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Manar television network that it downed an Israeli drone that had entered the Lebanese skies on Monday afternoon, Press TV reported.
The statement added the Israeli aircraft was brought down as it was flying over Wadi Aaziyyeh area close to Zibqine town, located 103 kilometers south of the capital Beirut and four kilometers from the border with the Israeli-occupied territories.
In September 2021, Hezbollah said it had separately intercepted and struck an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle as it crossed into Lebanon’s airspace over Maryamin Valley on the outskirts of the southern town of Yater.
The Israeli aircraft was targeted with “suitable weapons,” according to a Hezbollah statement at the time.
The Israeli army, meanwhile, alleged that the drone “fell during routine activity” and that the incident was being “investigated.”
Israel frequently violates Lebanon’s airspace. Lebanon’s government, Hezbollah, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have repeatedly condemned Israel’s overflights, saying they are in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the country’s sovereignty.
The resolution, which brokered a ceasefire in the war Israel launched against Lebanon in 2006, calls on the Israeli regime to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.