Lebanon’s Hezbollah group says it has downed an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel.
The Iran-backed group “shot down an Israeli drone that entered Lebanese airspace, near Zibqin in the south”, it said in a statement on Monday.
The incident comes after weeks of tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, mainly in a disputed area known as Shebaa Farms.
Earlier this month, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas to disperse Lebanese protesters who pelted the troops with stones along the border. Some of the demonstrators and Lebanese troops suffered breathing problems.
Earlier in June, Israeli media had reported that Hezbollah had set up two tents there “in Israeli territory”.
Hezbollah carried out military exercises near the country’s southern border with Israel in May in a show of its military power.
Israel and Hezbollah had fought a month-long war in Lebanon in 2006. Hezbollah has in the past claimed downing Israeli drones, while Israel’s military has claimed shooting down of Hezbollah drones.
