A drone operated by the Israeli military was downed in southern Lebanon on Saturday afternoon.
Near midnight on the same day, Hezbollah’s media relations department issued a brief statement claiming responsibility for attacking the UAV.
“The Islamic Resistance shot down on Saturday afternoon, August 22, 2020, an Israeli drone that entered the Lebanese airspace near the town of Aita Al-Shaab, and the plane is now in the custody of the mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance,” the statement read.
On the other hand, Israel’s military said that one of its drones fell inside Lebanese territory during “operational activity” along the border, confirming that Hezbollah shot it down and captured it.
The military declared that there is “no risk of breach of information.”
It’s worth noting that tensions have been high on Lebanon’s southern border ever since an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed a Hezbollah operative on July 20th, prompting the organization to promise a retaliation against Israel.
The anticipated military action was thought to be over when an attack was reported against Israeli forces late in July, to which Israel responded by shelling various targets in Lebanon, without causing any casualties.
Surprisingly, Hezbollah later stated that it had not initiated any operations against the enemy on that day, affirming that its promised retaliation would come.
On a side note, Hezbollah has been the subject of great controversy recently after the awaited verdict on the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri ruled that a man affiliated with it was guilty of murdering Hariri.
