Lebanese Army Shoots at Israeli Drones Near Border

The Lebanese army said in a statement Wednesday that it opened fire at two of three Israeli drones who violated the country’s airspace in its southern border, as tensions rise between the Hezbollah Movement and Israel.

RELATED: 

Israel Drone Attack a Declaration of War: Lebanon's President

“Israeli drones violated Lebanese airspace at 19:35 [local time] and hovered above a Lebanese army position in the border village of Adaisseh and returned to Israel after shots were fired,” the statement reads.

A Lebanese security source told Reuters that troops fired shots from M16 assault rifles. The Lebanese army does not own air defense systems.

The Israeli army (IDF) later said that all three drones returned to Israel airspace after “completing their mission," adding that “no [Israeli military] damage was reported.” 

"Approximately an hour ago, shots were heard from Lebanese territory towards an air space in which [Israeli military] drones were operating," the Israeli army statement added, without addressing Lebanon's accusations that the drones had violated the country's airspace.

The incident comes after an alleged Israeli drone crashed Aug. 25 in a Hezbollah-dominated area in the southern suburbs of Beirut while another exploded and crashed nearby. The Lebanese group Hezbollah called it an act of aggression and promised to retaliate against the attack.

Beirut has repeatedly denounced before the United Nations the fact that Israel, a country it considers enemy, continuously violates its airspace and thus its sovereignty.

According to the U.N., Israeli overflights of its neighbor’s territory constitute a violation of resolution 1701, which was intended to resolve the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah forces. However, the state of Israel keeps on violating the decision by illegally entering Lebanese airspace, almost on a daily basis.

On Tuesday, the Lebanese Higher Defence Council said that the Lebanese have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary to stop any Israeli attacks.