The Israeli military said an explosive drone “fell in an open area in the Mount Hermon area”
Beirut, Lebanon:
Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said on Sunday it had launched its “largest” aerial operation by sending explosive drones to attack an Israeli military intelligence base in the annexed Golan Heights.
It is the latest incident in a series of cross-border gun battles that have caused global unrest.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, has engaged in near-daily firefights with Israeli forces since the Palestinian group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, sparking war in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah announced “the largest operation” ever carried out by its air force, saying in a statement that its fighters “sent multiple, successive squadrons of drones to attack the reconnaissance center” on Mount Hermon.
According to the Israeli military, an explosive drone “crashed in an open area in the Mount Hermon area,” but there were “no injuries.”
In recent weeks, attacks and rhetoric have increased, raising fears of a major conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The last time there was a war was in 2006.
The Lebanese movement said the drone strike was part of its “response” to the killing of a police officer during a raid on Saturday deep in eastern Lebanon, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border.
The attack on Mount Hermon targeted intelligence systems, which “were destroyed and caused a major fire,” Hezbollah said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops on Mount Hermon earlier on Sunday, his office said.
In two additional statements, the military said air defenses had “successfully” intercepted several “air targets” crossing the border from Lebanon after sirens sounded in the Golan Heights.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and later annexed the area, without the international community being very happy about it.
Saturday's Israeli strike killed “a senior employee of Hezbollah's air defense unit,” the military said.
During Sunday, Hezbollah announced four more attacks on Israeli military sites across the border with barrages of rockets and some guided missiles. Israeli authorities reported four injuries.
Gallant said in a video from Mount Hermon that “even if there is a ceasefire” in Gaza, “we will continue to fight and do whatever it takes to achieve the desired result” in the campaign against Hezbollah.
At least 497 people, mostly fighters but also 95 civilians, have been killed in cross-border violence in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally.
According to authorities, at least 16 soldiers and 11 civilians were killed on the Israeli side.
Tens of thousands of residents have been displaced from the border areas in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
