Lebanon's Hezbollah claims downing Israeli drone

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Lebanese Hezbollah declared that it had successfully shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone. The group asserted that the debris fell over the Galilee Panhandle.

The Elbit Hermes 450 is an Israeli medium-sized multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle designed for tactical long-endurance missions. It has an endurance of over 20 hours, with a primary mission of reconnaissance, surveillance, and communications relay.

In a statement, Hezbollah announced the downing of the Israeli drone, describing it as a multi-tasking combat drone, and attributed the action to its support for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The statement declared the missile launch at 1:45 a.m..

In response, the Israeli army released a statement countering Hezbollah's claim. It confirmed the interception of a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon toward an army drone. Warning sirens were activated in northern Israel due to the interceptor missile launch.

Tensions along the Lebanese-Palestinian border have escalated, marked by a series of targeted operations. Hezbollah had previously announced the targeting of six Israeli forces' sites in various areas following an earlier operation that targeted three sites simultaneously.

The heightened activity between Hezbollah and the Israeli army is connected to the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, contributing to a climate of increased tension and reciprocal targeting along the Lebanese border.