IDF: Lebanese drone briefly entered Israeli airspace

Military says drone returned to Lebanon after incursion; incident comes amid lingering tensions after flareup with Iran earlier this month

By Judah Ari Gross 29 November 2019, 3:44 pm

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Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.

ILLUSTRATIVE -- In this July 11, 2018 file photo, a drone equipped with a thermal camera flies over the plants at the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources' Jennings Environmental Education Center on July 11, 2018 in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

A drone briefly entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon on Friday afternoon, the military said.

The Israel Defense Forces said the unmanned aerial vehicle later flew back to Lebanese territory.

It was not immediately clear for how long the drone was over Israeli territory or to whom the aircraft belonged.

The incursion came amid lingering tensions between Israel and Iran, whose proxy Hezbollah is a dominant figure in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah is known to have several models of drones in its arsenals.

Last Tuesday, Iranian forces in Syria launched several rockets at northern Israel, which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, according to the IDF.

In response, the following day the Israeli military conducted a series of airstrikes on Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria.