Israel Claims It Just Downed A Hezbollah Drone

AFP | AP

Israel’s military announced that it had brought down a drone belonging to Hezbollah after it entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon on Tuesday.

While the drone reportedly posed no danger, the Israeli military said it “will not tolerate any violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

In July, the Israeli military took down a drone that was filming a Hezbollah music video. The drone, however, was reportedly filming from Lebanon air space.

Fact is, Israel constantly fails to respect the principle related to non-violation of airspace, with its drones regularly entering Lebanon’s and hovering over Lebanese territories.

The Lebanese army downed an Israeli drone not long ago so did Hezbollah on various occasions.

Over the past several months, Lebanon’s airspace was violated many times by Israeli aircraft, all the way to Beirut and Mount Lebanon, so much that residents of Beirut and other towns have become familiar with the sound of enemy drones.

In the weeks after the Beirut explosion, UNIFIL Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said that the UNIFIL had recorded “a large number of air violations by the IDF.”

Condemning such actions, Del Col asked the IDF to stop overflying Lebanese airspace. He stressed that “such persistent violations escalate tensions and could trigger incidents endangering the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.”

There have yet been no comments from Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.

This new violation comes at a time when Lebanon and Israel are in negotiations over the disputed maritime border.

Photographs used for illustrative purposes.