Climbing continues in the Middle East. On Monday, 9 September, Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had destroyed an "Israeli drone" as it tried to cross the border between the Jewish state and the country of Cedar.
Hezbollah fighters "confronted with the necessary weapons an Israeli drone as it crossed the border" towards the locality of Ramieh in southern Lebanon, according to a statement from the Shiite movement. "The drone has been shot outside the locality and is in the hands of Hezbollah.
Israel did not comment immediately.
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After an August 25 UAV attack on Israel's southern outskirts of Hezbollah stronghold, the leader of the Shiite movement reacted by pledging to shoot down Israeli drones into Lebanon's airspace.
The escalation of tensions that had been going on for several weeks had ended on Sunday, 1 September, with gunfire between Hezbollah and the Jewish state on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
The Shiite movement reportedly fired anti-tank missiles at an armored vehicle in northern Israel. The Israeli army fought back with about 100 shells fired at an area in southern Lebanon, which it said was "the source of the gunfire", causing limited fires in forested areas.
A heavyweight of political life in Lebanon, represented in government and parliament, Hezbollah is considered a "terrorist" group by Israel and the United States. Ally to Iran, another bane of the Jewish state, he is militarily committed to the regime in the conflict in Syria, where his positions and his arms convoys are regularly the target of Israeli bombing.
"No more red line"
The current fever spurt comes after an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Hezbollah fighters on August 24. It was followed, a few hours later, by sending two drones loaded with explosives against the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah. The Shiite movement and the Lebanese army pointed to Israel, which never commented.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah immediately promised retaliation to Israel, while pledging to shoot down Israeli drones entering Lebanon. He reiterated this commitment on 2 September, while assuring that his movement had "no longer a red line" in its fight against Israel.
"The message is clear: if you attack, all borders, your soldiers, your settlements, at the border, in the depths (of the territory) or at its heart, can be threatened and targeted," the Hezbollah leader said.
The last major confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah dates back to 2006. A 33-day war had devastated Lebanon and left more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israeli, mostly military, according to reports. official figures.
With AFP