The drone identified remained under IDF surveillance during the incident and did not pose danger to IDF troops or nearby civilian areas.
By TOBIAS SIEGALWatchtower at the Israel-Lebanon border(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The IDF brought down a Hezbollah drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon on Tuesday, the IDF reported.The drone was identified and was tracked during the entire incident and at no point posed a danger to troops or nearby civilian areas, the report said. It was intercepted in the Galilee Panhandle, the northernmost section of the Upper Galilee.The drone was intercepted by electronic warfare means, Ynet reported. It was collected by the IDF, which is attempting to determine whether the drone was armed or was used for intelligence gathering purposes. The Northern Command continues to maintain high alert and will not tolerate any violation of Israeli sovereignty, the IDF stated.Former defense minister Naftali Bennett said it was a severe violation of Israeli sovereignty and should be dealt with immediately.“Israel cannot be satisfied with strategic defensive tools that allow the terrorist organization to keep growing. Israel can’t accept this kind of threat,” he said.Tension between Hezbollah and IDF troops stationed along the Lebanon border have been high in recent months after an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria on July 20 killed a Hezbollah operative.At the time, Hezbollah said a retaliatory strike was “inevitable.” It came roughly a month later, when the Iranian-backed militia fired at troops positioned at Kibbutz Menara in the Upper Galilee. The IDF then responded by striking Hezbollah posts along the Lebanese border.In August, an IDF drone was reportedly downed in Lebanese territory during operational activity near the border. Hezbollah later issued a statement saying it had the drone. The IDF said sensitive information had not been compromised.In October, the IDF held a large-scale exercise simulating war with Hezbollah. Called “Lethal Arrow,” the drill included thousands of troops from various branches and was aimed at improving the IDF’s offensive capabilities at all levels.
