Illustrative image. Source: the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
On May 19, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) accidentally identified one of its own drones which was flying near the separation line with Lebanon as a possible enemy aircraft.
In a statement, the IDF said that Iron Dome interceptors were fired at the drone. The army did not say whether the drone was destroyed. However, the Israeli media reported that it was not.
As a result of the interception attempt, alert sirens were activated in the Upper Galilee region, where residents rushed to bomb shelters. Footage show streaks from two interceptors over the region circulated online.
The situation along the separation line between Israel and Lebanon has been unstable for quite some time now. Several security incidents were reported in the region over the last few weeks.
On April 25, a rocket was launched from Lebanon’s South Governorate, the heartland of Hezbollah, at northern Israel. Palestinian gunmen were allegedly behind the rocket attack. In response to the attack, the IDF shelled the area from which the rocket was launched and “infrastructure” targets in the South Governorate.
On May 17, the IDF shot down a drone belonging to the Hezbollah after it entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon. The drone was a small quadcopter manufactured by Chinese company DJI.
These incidents came as Israel is conducting its largest military exercise in decades. Thousands of troops from the IDF are taking part in the exercise, codenamed “chariots of fire”. The exercise simulates a multifront and multidimensional war against Israel’s enemies, including Hezbollah, in the air, at sea, on land and on the cyber front.
