Hezbollah downs Israeli drone over southern Lebanon

Shafaq News / The Israeli army announced, on Saturday, that one of its drones was shot down over Lebanese territory by a surface-to-air missile.

Israeli Army Radio reported that "the drone was downed by a missile launched by Hezbollah."

An Israeli army spokesperson stated that the incident is under investigation, adding, "The air force will continue to operate in Lebanese airspace to carry out the missions of the Israeli army."

The mentioned drone is a "Kochav Hermes 900", one of the largest and most expensive drones in the Israeli army's arsenal. The drone caught fire while in the air before crashing in a village in southern Lebanon.

According to Sky News, this is the fourth time since the beginning of the war that Hezbollah has managed to shoot down an Israeli attack drone. So far, two "Kochav" drones and two "Zik" drones have been downed.

Hezbollah is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East that has been deeply involved in intense, near-daily cross-border fighting with Israel since October 7.

So far, approximately 300 Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah mourns all its members killed by Israel under the slogan: "on the path to Jerusalem" since October 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza who have been subjected to Israeli aggression for seven months.

Conversely, the group has targeted Israel with heavy missiles, resulting in the deaths and wounding of soldiers and the destruction of hundreds of military telecommunication towers, as well as dropping drones.

Israel remains highly secretive about its losses with Hezbollah, but all settlements in the northern region are devoid of residents, who have either fled elsewhere or sought refuge in shelters. There is also an internal Israeli conflict over the escalating tensions with Hezbollah, given the group's possession of an arsenal of up to 100,000 missiles, including those capable of reaching Tel Aviv, as stated by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.