An Israeli soldier launches a drone. (Credit: AFP / File photo)
Hezbollah said it downed an Israeli drone near the border in southern Lebanon on Monday.
The Iran-backed group "shot down an Israeli drone that entered Lebanese airspace ... near Zibqin in the south," Hezbollah said in a statement.
The Israeli army told AFP that one of its drones "fell in Lebanese territory during routine activity. There is no risk of a breach of information."
In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, Hezbollah clarified that "the Resistance shot down an Israeli drone at noon, using appropriate weapons, in the Aziye valley near the village of Zebqine in southern Lebanon."
The craft "entered Lebanese airspace near the settlement of Zarit and flew at medium altitude (7 km) over Lebanese airspace before being shot down," according to the statement.
"The photos show how the Israeli enemy tried unsuccessfully to regain control of the drone, which was hit by bullets," continued the statement, which noted that the craft was equipped with "two high-quality cameras."
A Hezbollah spokeswoman told L’Orient Today that this isn’t the first time Hezbollah has shot down a drone. The last time a drone was downed in Lebanese territory was in May 2022.
“Hezbollah shoots down Israeli drones over Lebanese territories when it's able to and when it's not too difficult," the spokeswoman explained. She added that Hezbollah has never “denied any activity that it's involved in.”
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it was "aware of the information and is examining the situation," but offered no further details.
Israeli warplanes and drones regularly violate Lebanon's airspace, while the powerful Shiite Muslim movement for years has been sending drones towards Israel.
Both sides claim to have shot down the other's unmanned aircraft in the past.
In April, Israel's military said soldiers had shot down a drone that entered its airspace from Lebanon, a day after a barrage of rockets was fired into Israel.
The neighboring countries are still technically at war, and peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon patrol the border between the two.
Set up in 1978, UNIFIL was beefed up after a devastating war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.
The group is the only side not to have disarmed following Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, and it is also a powerful player in Lebanese politics.
Last month, Hezbollah simulated cross-border raids into Israel in a show of its military might, using live ammunition and an attack drone.