The launch of the plane appears to be an attempt by Hezbollah to influence US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon on its maritime border.
The launch of the plane appears to be an attempt by Hezbollah to influence US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon on its maritime border.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that it shot down three unmanned aircraft launched by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, headed for an area where an Israeli gas platform was recently installed in the Mediterranean Sea.
The launch of the plane appears to be an attempt by Hezbollah to influence US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon on its maritime border, a region rich in natural gas.
In a statement, Israel said the plane was spotted early and there was no “imminent danger”. Nonetheless, the incident prompted a stern warning from the acting prime minister of Israel, Yair Lapid.
“I stand before you at this time and say to all who demand our demise, from Gaza to Tehran, from the coast of Lebanon to Syria: do not test us,” Mr Lapid said to the nation after taking office. Said in his first address. on Friday. “Israel knows how to use its might against every threat, against every enemy.”
Israel earlier this month installed a gas rig in the Karish field, which Israel says is within its share of internationally recognized economic waters. Lebanon claims it is in disputed waters.
Hezbollah issued a brief statement confirming that it had launched three unarmed drones on a reconnaissance mission toward the disputed maritime issue over the Karish region. “Mission accomplished and message received,” it said.
The US said last week that mediator Amos Hochstein had held talks with the Lebanese and Israeli sides. “The exchanges were productive and pursued the objective of bridging the differences between the two sides. The United States will continue to engage with the parties in the days and weeks to come,” his office said in a statement last week.
The two countries, which have been officially at war since the creation of Israel in 1948, claim approximately 860 square kilometers (330 sq mi) of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon hopes to tap offshore gas reserves as it grapples with the worst economic crisis in its modern history.
On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told reporters that Lebanon had received “encouraging information” about the border dispute, but declined to comment further, saying Beirut was awaiting “a written official response to suggestions by the Lebanese side”. doing.