IDF says troops downed suspected Hezbollah drone on Lebanon border

Israeli forces on Tuesday downed a small drone that Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group apparently flew over the border, the Israel Defense Forces said.

A statement from the IDF said air control units tracked the unmanned aircraft “throughout the incident” before taking it down.

It did not specify how the drone was brought down as it entered Israeli airspace; however, it was believed to have been done using electronic warfare means.

“The drone apparently belongs to the Hezbollah terror group,” the IDF said.

“The IDF will continue to operate in order to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty,” the statement added.

In an image shared by the army, the drone appears to be a commercially available quadcopter manufactured by Chinese company DJI.

Defense officials have previously noted that at least some of the drones Hezbollah apparently uses for surveillance purposes are commercially available devices.

There was no immediate statement from Hezbollah or affiliated media outlets on the drone downing.

Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war and the heavily guarded border is commonly penetrated by drones from both sides.

Lebanon regularly complains about Israeli surveillance drones invading its airspace, but the IDF maintains that such incursions are necessary to track the activities of the Hezbollah terror group, which the Lebanese government is supposed to keep in check.

In the summer, the IDF intercepted four Hezbollah drones heading for the Karish offshore gas field amid heightened tensions over a maritime dispute. Those drones were “products of Iran,” according to Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

The IDF’s alert level on the northern border was lowered in October after a landmark maritime border deal between Israel and Lebanon went into effect.