Beirut, Jun 1 (AP) The militant Hezbollah group said it shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon on Saturday, after hours Israeli drone strikes killed at least one person and wounded others.
Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters struck the Hermes 900 Kochav drone, saying such aircraft have been targeting militants and civilian homes. The exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border has been intensifying over the past weeks with Israel’s military push Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
The Israeli military said a surface-to-air missile was fired toward a drone operating in Lebanese airspace, adding that it was hit and fell in Lebanese territory. “The incident is under review,” the military said.
The Hermes 900 Kochav is a medium altitude and long endurance drone that can carry four anti-tank guided missiles.
Earlier Saturday, an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle near the southern Lebanese village of Khirbet Selm wounded two people, state-run National News Agency said. The agency reported another drone strike Saturday afternoon in a village near the southern city of Nabatiyeh.
An Israeli airstrike on a house in the coastal village of Adloun killed one woman and wounded several others on Friday evening, the agency reported.
Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts along the Lebanon-Israel border a day after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border.
Over the past seven months, more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon most of them fighters but they also include more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. In Israel, 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed since October. (AP)
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