JERUSALEM: The Israeli military on Monday accused UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon of shooting down one of its drones a day earlier during an intelligence-gathering mission.
“Yesterday, an IDF intelligence-gathering drone was downed in the area of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon during a routine intelligence-gathering activity in the area,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said on X.
“An initial inquiry suggests that UNIFIL forces stationed nearby deliberately fired at the drone and downed it. The drone’s activity did not pose a threat to UNIFIL forces.”
Following the shooting of the drone, the military dropped a grenade toward the area where the UAV fell, adding that troops did not fire at the peacekeepers.
On Sunday, UNIFIL said an Israeli drone flew over its patrol in an “aggressive manner.”
“The peacekeepers applied necessary defensive countermeasures to neutralize the drone,” it said in a statement.
The incident “shows disregard for safety and security of the peacekeepers implementing Security Council mandated tasks in southern Lebanon,” it said.
UNIFIL later said another Israeli drone came close to its patrol operating near Kfar Kila and dropped a grenade.
“Moments later, an Israeli tank fired a shot toward the peacekeepers. Fortunately, no injury or damage was caused to the UNIFIL peacekeepers and assets,” the statement added.
As part of last year’s ceasefire deal, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle any military infrastructure in the south.
According to the agreement, only the Lebanese army and UNIFIL are to be deployed in the south of the country.
Under US pressure and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, a plan the movement and its allies oppose.
Despite the terms of the truce, Israel has kept troops deployed in five border points it deems strategic.
Israel has also intensified strikes in recent weeks, with several deadly attacks launched over the past few days.
Israel army accuses UN peacekeepers of shooting down drone in south Lebanon
https://arab.news/5fyrt
Israel army accuses UN peacekeepers of shooting down drone in south Lebanon
- On Sunday, UNIFIL said an Israeli drone flew over its patrol in an ‘aggressive manner’
- UNIFIL statement: ‘The peacekeepers applied necessary defensive countermeasures to neutralize the drone’
Helicopter crashes in Libya during medical evacuation, killing 3
- The Matan Al-Sarra air base lies in an area under the control of Libya’s Benghazi-based eastern administration led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, but authorities in the east did not comment on the crash
TRIPOLI: A helicopter has crashed in southeastern Libya, killing a medic and two crew members carrying out a medical evacuation, state media said Tuesday.
Libyan news agency LANA said the chopper went down overnight near an air base in the Kufra region about 60 kilometers north of the border between Libya and Chad.
The aircraft was attempting to evacuate a soldier who had been involved in a road accident in the desert, LANA said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known and it was unclear what happened to the injured soldier.
Libyan media reports said two foreign nationals were among those on board who were killed, but this was not confirmed by authorities.
The Matan Al-Sarra air base lies in an area under the control of Libya’s Benghazi-based eastern administration led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, but authorities in the east did not comment on the crash.
Libya remains split between the eastern administration and a UN-backed government in the west led by Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. The LANA news agency is under the control of western authorities.
Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted following a 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi.
