UPDATE - Israeli army claims intercepting drone heading towards Israel in Red Sea

REVISES DECK, UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army claimed on Sunday that one of its navy missile ships intercepted a drone approaching Israel's territory in the Red Sea.

In a statement, the Israeli army said: “Saar 4.5 missile ship successfully neutralized the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) outside Israel’s borders in the Red Sea.”

There was no further details on the origin of the drone or whether it was armed.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the drone attack, stating that they had targeted a "vital site" in Eilat, southern Israel.

In a statement, the group said: “Continuing our resistance against the occupation and in solidarity with our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and in response to the massacres committed by the Zionist entity against civilians, our fighters from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked a vital target in Eilat.”

The group added that the attack was carried out using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

This marks the second drone attack on Eilat within a week. Last Wednesday, Israeli media outlets, including Channel 12, reported two injuries and a fire in Eilat’s port following the drone debris fell over the city. The same Iraqi group claimed responsibility for that attack as well.

These developments come as Israel continues its "most violent and widespread" assault on Lebanon since Sept. 23, targeting Hezbollah amid rising tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

According to Lebanese authorities, these strikes have resulted in 816 deaths, including children and women, and 2,507 injuries.

Simultaneously, air raid sirens have been sounding across Israel due to hundreds of rockets launched by Hezbollah targeting military sites, settlements, and a Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah and Israel continued cross-border warfare since the Gaza war last October, but Tel Aviv recently escalated its offensive in Lebanon, killing hundreds, displacing thousands and also assassinating the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara