Fighters from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah have shot down an Israeli drone as it was flying in the skies over southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said in a statement on Monday its fighters had shot down a Hermes 900 drone armed with missiles to carry out attacks on our regions using air defense weapons.
The Israeli military confirmed a drone had been shot down over Lebanon by a surface-to-air missile. "A surface-to-air missile was launched toward an IAF (Israeli Air Force) UAV that was operating in Lebanese airspace," it said in a statement. The drone "was damaged and fell in Lebanese territory," it added.
The Hermes 900 is a medium-sized drone, which reportedly has the endurance to fly for over 36 hours and up to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and can carry a maximum payload of 350 kilograms.
Hezbollah has also escalated its use of drones to attack Israeli military positions in recent months. Last Thursday, the Lebanese resistance group used anti-aircraft missiles against Israeli jets for the first time.
Separately, Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli military post in the occupied Golan Heights with a “squadron of drones” on Monday. In a statement, the group said it had injured Israeli soldiers and caused part of the outpost to catch fire.
Hezbollah also said it carried out an air attack “with a swarm of drones” on the newly established command headquarters of the Israeli army’s 146th Division east of Israel’s northern city of Nahariya in the occupied territory.
The group said in a statement on Telegram the attack resulted in “the killing or wounding” of Israeli forces as well as the destruction of their settlements and a blaze.
It said the operation was in response to Israel’s attack on the Lebanese villages of Aitaroun and Markaba that killed two people on Saturday.
The Israeli regime launched its devastating hostilities in the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The Israeli military has also been carrying out attacks against the Lebanese territory since then, prompting retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.