Beirut, Lebanon: Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement announced on Sunday that it launched its “largest” air operation to date, deploying explosive drones aimed at an Israeli military intelligence base located on Mount Hermon in the annexed Golan Heights. This incident marks the latest escalation in a series of cross-border exchanges that have raised global concerns.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, has been engaged in almost daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces since October 7, following Hamas’s attack on Israel which led to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Hezbollah described the operation as the “largest” ever conducted by its aerial forces, detailing that multiple successive squadrons of drones were sent to target the reconnaissance center on Mount Hermon.
The Israeli military confirmed that an explosive drone had “fallen in an open area in the Mount Hermon area,” but reported no injuries.
Tensions and hostilities have been escalating in recent weeks, sparking fears of a potential full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which last clashed in a significant war in 2006.
Hezbollah stated that the drone attack was a direct response to the killing of one of its operatives in a strike on Saturday, which occurred deep within eastern Lebanon, approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the border.
The attack on Mount Hermon specifically targeted intelligence systems, resulting in their destruction and igniting a major fire, according to Hezbollah.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops stationed on Mount Hermon, as confirmed by his office.
In two additional statements, the Israeli military reported that its air defenses had “successfully intercepted” several “aerial targets” that crossed from Lebanon after sirens were sounded in the Golan Heights area.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and later annexed the region, a move that remains largely unrecognized by the international community.
The Israeli strike on Saturday reportedly killed “a key operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defence Unit,” according to the Israeli military.
Throughout Sunday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for four more attacks on Israeli military sites along the border, employing barrages of rockets and some guided missiles. Israeli authorities reported four people wounded in these attacks.
In a video message from Mount Hermon, Defence Minister Gallant asserted that “even if there is a ceasefire” in Gaza, Israel would “continue fighting and doing everything necessary to bring about the desired result” in the campaign against Hezbollah.
The ongoing cross-border violence has resulted in at least 497 deaths in Lebanon, primarily fighters but also including 95 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, at least 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.
The conflict has also displaced tens of thousands of residents from the border areas in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
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