Israeli army says it intercepted 2 drones fired from Lebanon

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel said Monday that its air force intercepted two drones launched from Lebanon towards the Western Galilee.

A military statement said that “following sirens that sounded in the Western Galilee area regarding a hostile aircraft infiltration, two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were successfully intercepted.”

Earlier, air raid sirens were activated in several locations across northern Israel including Nahariya, Betzet, Shlomi, Liman and Gesher HaZiv as part of heightened security measures following the drone threat, according to the Home Front.

Additionally, the Israeli army reported that around 40 rockets were fired from Lebanon, hitting the Western Galilee region. One of the rockets struck a house in the Shomera settlement, but no injuries were reported, said Army Radio.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket attacks targeting Israeli settlements in the Kiryat area north of Haifa. The group also said it carried out an airstrike using a swarm of drones on an Israeli military gathering west of the town of Aalma El Chaeb in southern Lebanon.

Israel has been engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon over the Israeli army’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets.

More than 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with nearly 15,000 injured and more than a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 this year.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio