BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes targeted the outskirts of Aaichiyeh village in Lebanon’s southern region on Monday after Hezbollah said it had downed an Israeli drone on a combat mission.
Hezbollah announced it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone on Sunday night from the same location.
It is the second drone that Hezbollah has downed in Lebanese airspace in the last two weeks. The Iran-backed group’s tactics now involve shooting down Israeli drones, in addition to targeting military outposts opposite the southern border.
Hezbollah said that the drone was attacking “our noble and steadfast people.”
Explosions were heard on Monday afternoon after sirens sounded in the Israeli Kiryat Shmona settlement and its surroundings in the Upper Galilee.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that “a suspicious aerial target was intercepted over the Galilee panhandle near the Lebanese border.”
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that “a surface-to-air missile was launched toward an Israeli army drone that was operating in Lebanese airspace on Saturday night.”
The drone was hit and fell in Lebanese territory, he said, adding that the incident was under investigation.
Adraee claimed that Israeli warplanes struck the site from which the missile was launched, and added that the air force would continue to operate in Lebanese airspace to achieve the military’s aims.
Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, a member of Hezbollah’s Central Council, said the group’s drones “successfully bypass Israeli air defense systems every day.”
He said the distance between “us and Israeli settlements and sites is extremely close, and the distance between Kafr Kila and Metulla is zero, as well as Miskvam and Al-Manara.”
Qaouk said Hezbollah’s drones can hit their targets in Israeli settlements within a minute from launch.
He said: “You saw in Arab Al-Aramsha how the drone attacked the Israeli force, and we thus demonstrated our ability to evade all Israeli air defense systems.”
Qaouk added that “the increase in killings and attacks on homes in border towns will not alter the situation. It will not affect Hezbollah’s commitment to backing Hamas and will not result in the settlers going back to their homes (in northern Israel).”
Qaouk’s remarks came as confrontations on the Lebanese southern front continued on Monday as the Israeli army bombed Maroun Al-Ras village in Bint Jbeil.
The Israeli military also targeted a site near Maydoun village in western Bekaa, while shells reached the outskirts of Tayr Harfa, Dhahira, and Yaroun.
Meanwhile, sirens sounded at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s headquarters in Naqoura following Israeli bombing that had targeted the western sector of the country.
Hezbollah then launched missiles from Lebanon toward an Israeli military base in Western Galilee.
The group attacked an Israeli military position near Hanita with artillery shells and “successfully hit spy equipment across from the village of Al-Wazzani with suitable weapons.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has received Harvey Smyth, British deputy chief of the defense staff.
A statement said the talks had focused on the need “to reduce tension and achieve a ceasefire in southern Lebanon.”
Smyth also met Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for talks which focused on the situation “in Lebanon and the region in light of Israel’s continued aggression against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.”
European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi also led a delegation to meet the parliament speaker, and Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun.
Berri’s office said the parties discussed the “overall situation in Lebanon and the region.”
Lebanon is asking for help in boosting the number of Lebanese soldiers in the area south of the Litani River, in line with Resolution 1701, and is urging the global community to support the move.
