Israel says it downed Hezbollah drone that crossed from Lebanon

Jerusalem (Reuters) – The Israeli military said on Thursday it downed a drone belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah group that crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon.

In a brief statement, it said the incident occurred on Wednesday.

“Our troops monitored and successfully downed the drone,” the military said. “We will continue to operate in order to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty.”

The statement gave no technical details about the drone, but Israeli media reports said it was unarmed and likely on a reconnaissance mission.

Tensions flared along the Israeli-Lebanese border last week, with Hezbollah launching rocket attacks that drew Israeli air strikes and artillery fire.

But both sides targeted open ground, suggesting neither was interested in wider conflict. Israel and Hezbollah last fought a war in 2006.

Last week’s flareup coincided with wider regional tensions with Iran, which has denied U.S., Israeli and British allegations it was behind a July 29 attack on an Israeli-managed oil tanker in the Gulf in which two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed.