Source : The Voice of Russia
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Thursday it did not send a drone into Israeli airspace, hours after Israel said it had shot down a drone from Lebanon.
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"Hezbollah denies that it has sent any surveillance plane towards the occupied Palestinian land," a statement by the Iranian-backed armed Muslim Shi'ite group said.
Asked whether Hezbollah, which sent a drone into southern Israel in October, was behind the incident, an Israeli military spokesman said an investigation was under way.
Israeli PM says Lebanon drone incident 'extremely grave'
An unmanned drone from Lebanon shot down on Thursday by the air force off the northern coast of Israel was an "extremely grave" incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"I see this attempt to breach our borders as extremely grave. We will continue to do whatever we must to protect the security of Israel's citizens," he said.
Israeli air force has shot down Hezbollah drone over Israeli skies - military officials
The Israeli military says it has shot down an unmanned aircraft sent by the Hezbollah group into Israeli skies.
"An unmanned aircraft (UAV) was identified approaching the coast of Israel and was successfully intercepted by IAF aircraft five nautical miles off the coast of Haifa at approximately 14:00 (1300 GMT) today," it said.
"We're talking about another attempt by Hezbollah to send an unmanned drone into Israeli territory," said deputy defence minister Danny Danonhe.
It is the second known instance in which the Lebanese militant group, a bitter Israeli enemy, has sent a drone into Israeli airspace. Last October, the Israeli air force shot down an unmanned aircraft in a similar incident.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently warned that Hezbollah might try to take advantage of the instability in neighboring Syria to obtain what he calls game- changing weapons.
Voice of Russia, Reuters, AFP
