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The Israeli army said Saturday it had intercepted three drones launched by Hezbollah that were headed towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean, amid rising tension between Israel and Lebanon.
“Three hostile drones approaching the airspace in Israel’s economic waters have been intercepted,” the army said in a statement, adding that the drones were headed towards the Karish gas field. The drones were not armed and did not pose a risk, Israeli military sources said.
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An IAF fighter jet and an Israeli Navy missile ship intercepted 3 hostile UAVs from Lebanon which approached the airspace over Israel’s economic waters today. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/yAXVzLjvy0
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 2, 2022
One drone was intercepted by a fighter jet and the other two by a warship, the sources added. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in a statement confirmed it had launched drones towards the offshore area.
“On Saturday afternoon, three unarmed drones were launched towards the disputed Karish field for reconnaissance missions,” the Shiite group said in a statement. “The mission was accomplished,” it added, without mentioning any Israeli interception.
Lebanon condemned Israel last month when a vessel chartered by Israel and operated by London-listed Greek energy firm Energean entered the Karish field. Hezbollah at the time warned Energean against proceeding with its activities.
“The immediate objective should be to prevent the enemy from extracting oil and gas from the Karish gas field,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. Hezbollah will not “stand by and do nothing in the face of…
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Source : france24
