The Israeli military said it intercepted three drones launched by Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement towards an offshore gas field.
Israeli military says it intercepted three drones launched by Lebanon Hezbollah movement towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean.
“Three hostile drones that were approaching airspace in Israel’s economic waters were intercepted,” the military said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the drones It is heading towards the Karish gas field, which is partly claimed by Lebanon.
The drones are unarmed and pose no risk, Israeli military sources said.
Sources said one drone was intercepted by warplanes and the other two by warships.
Hezbollah said on Saturday that it has launched three drones and they completed the mission and “message delivered”. There was no immediate response from Lebanese authorities regarding the incident.
Lebanon condemned Israel last month when a vessel operated by the London-based Greek energy company Energean entered the Karish mine.
Israel claims that the area is within its waters and is not part of a disputed area under ongoing maritime border negotiations.
Hezbollah warned Energean against continuing its activities.
Lebanon and Israel have resumed talks on their sea border in 2020, but the process has stalled due to Beirut’s claim that the map used by the United Nations in the negotiations needs to be revised.
Beirut originally claimed 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the waters it spoke of in dispute but then claimed an additional 1,430 square kilometers (552 sq mi), including part of the Karish field.
Lebanon had hoped to expand offshore oil and gas production as it grapples with the worst economic crisis in its modern history.
The Israeli military said Saturday’s interceptions were the first time an Israeli naval ship-mounted air defense system shot down an oncoming target.
Technically, Lebanon and Israel are still at war and have no diplomatic relations. UN peacekeepers patrol the border.
Israel fought a devastating war with Hezbollah in 2006 and considers the Iran-backed group one of its main enemies.
