Two Israeli Drones Crash in Lebanon, Hezbollah Rejects Aggression

The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, said Sunday that the two Israeli drones that exploded and crashed in the southern suburbs of Beirut were on a "suicide mission," warning that the movement will prevent Israel from sending more drones to Lebanon.

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"Hezbollah will not allow such aggression," he said, adding that "the time when Israeli aircraft come and bombard parts of Lebanon is over."

This comes as an unmanned reconnaissance drone fell on the roof of a building that was housing Hezbollah's media center in the Dahiyeh suburbs of Beirut on Sunday. About 45 minutes later a second drone, which was likely sent by Israel to search for the first one, exploded in the air and crashed nearby.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri stated that "the new aggression ... constitutes a threat to regional stability and an attempt to push the situation towards further tension."

Meanwhile, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah would do anything to prevent such incidents from occurring again. 

"From now on, we will down any Israeli drones in Lebanon's skies," as it is a first clear dangerous breach of rules of engagement since the two sides fought a month-long war in 2006, during which Hezbollah inflicted a historic defeat on Israeli forces after Tel Aviv launched a missile campaign against southern Lebanon in an attempt to claim more territory. 

The fighting lasted 33 days and claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians. About 1,000,000 people were displaced.

Hezbollah was formed in 1985 with the backing of the newly-founded Islamic Republic of Iran as a militant political party. 

The group defines itself through its struggle against Israeli settler-colonialism in Palestine and Lebanon, particularly the 1982 Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, which ended in Israeli defeat and its withdrawal from the country in 2000.