Skirmishes between Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Israel persist

BEIRUT

Ongoing skirmishes between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel continued to escalate tensions in the region on Saturday.

The Israeli army reported that a military drone flying in the Lebanese airspace was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

“The incident is under investigation,” said the army.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that Hezbollah is responsible for downing the drone.

“Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone with an air-to-air missile,” it said, adding that “the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the downing of an Israeli drone in Lebanese airspace and opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.”

Hezbollah also confirmed its responsibility for downing the drone.

It said its fighters “tracked on Saturday a drone of the Hermes 900 type,” noting that it was “targeted with appropriate weapons over Lebanese territory, where it was downed.”

Despite Lebanon's complaints and repeated warnings about Israeli violations of its land, sea, and airspace, the Israeli army stated its intent to continue operating in the Lebanese airspace to “fulfill its Defense Army's objectives.”

A commercial center in Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee region sustained damage on Saturday as a result of a heavy missile launched from Lebanon, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said.

It added that “Israeli warplanes bombed southern Lebanon in response.”

The municipality of Kiryat Shmona said in a statement that “two rockets were detected landing in the city.”

No injuries were reported, it added.

Hezbollah reported on Saturday that it had targeted the Kiryat Shmona barracks, opposite the Lebanese border.

In a statement, the group said its fighters "targeted the headquarters of the 769th Brigade in the Kiryat Shmona barracks with heavy Burkan missiles and hit it directly.”

It added that this attack came in response to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanese towns.

2 injured in Israeli raid in southern Lebanon

In a separate incident, at least two people were injured on Saturday in an Israeli raid that targeted a motorcycle on the road to the town of Majdal Selm in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

The agency also reported that Israeli drones launched a series of raids targeting the towns of Jebbayn, Tayr Harfa, Al-Dhahira, and Marwahin in southern Lebanon, causing severe damage to property and infrastructure.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli army said its warplanes bombed Hezbollah targets in eight areas in southern Lebanon.

“Israeli Air Force warplanes raided important Hezbollah sites in the Ain Qana area and in the villages of Hamila and Aadloun,” the army said in a statement.

“The attack came in response to Hezbollah's launching of missiles towards the north of the country on Friday,” it added.

Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

The border tension comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 36,400 people since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.