"Israel" Shoots Drone near Haifa, Netanyahu’s Chopper Forced to Land: It Belongs to Hizbullah

Local Editor

The "Israeli" army announced Thursday that it had shot down a drone near the northern port, Haifa.

"We're talking about another attempt by Hizbullah to send an unmanned drone into "Israeli" territory," he said to the army radio.

In parallel, a military spokeswoman claimed the drone was detected in Lebanese skies and intercepted by an F-16 fighter jet on Thursday, some nine kilometers off Haifa's western coastline.

"Today the army thwarted the penetration of an unmanned aircraft into "Israeli" territory. Shortly after 1 pm a drone was identified as it was flying north to south along the Lebanese coastline. The air system tracked it for several minutes while it was still in Lebanese territory, and it was under surveillance throughout its flight until the interception," he detailed.

The "Israeli" army further stated: "The planes were scrambled, as were combat helicopters, after it was determined that the aircraft was not friendly, and certainly not an "Israeli" aircraft. The Air Force commander authorized the interception."

According to Ynet, the drone was downed over the sea, some eight to 10 kilometers (5-6.5 nautical miles) off Haifa's coastline after being identified by radars at 13:30 pm. It was downed at exactly 13:40 pm by two F-16 fighter jets.

The "Israeli" army noted that the downed drone was relatively small, and it remains unclear whether it was carrying explosives, "like other attack drones in Hizbullah's possession."

Another failure, the Zionist entity admitted is that its army does not know at this time what the drone's destination was, but said it was headed south along the Tyre-Zidon line.

Meanwhile, a plane carrying "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the north, was forced to land following the entrance of the drone into Occupied Palestine.

In a statement, Netanyahu said the incident was of "extreme gravity."

"I see this attempt to cross into "Israeli" territory as a very serious issue. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure the citizens of Israel remain safe," Netanyahu said in a statement.

The "Israeli" navy is reportedly searching for the wreckage of the drone in the sea.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org