Israel claims intercepting drone launched toward northern border near Lebanon

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army claimed on Friday that it had intercepted a drone launched toward the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border.

In a statement, the Israeli army reported that “following the alerts, the Israeli Air Force intercepted a suspicious aerial target."

The army stated that an investigation was underway but did not specify the source of the drone. Hezbollah has not confirmed or denied the involvement.

This marks the second time that sirens were heard in northern Israel since the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon began.

According to Anadolu, based on reports from Lebanon's official news agency as of Thursday, the Israeli army has violated the cease-fire agreement with Lebanon 141 times since it took effect on Nov. 27.

The deal came into force on Nov. 27 in hopes of ending the 14 months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. It is, however, described as fragile, as countless violations were documented by Lebanon.

Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line de facto border in a phased manner while the Lebanese army deploys its forces in southern Lebanon within 60 days.

Implementation is to be overseen by the US and France, but details on enforcement mechanisms remain unclear.

More than 4,000 people have been killed and over 16,500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, in addition to over 1 million displaced since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi