Lebanese and

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

officials reported that at 2:30 a.m. local time (23:30 GMT) on 25 August 2019, two drones crashed into the

Dahieh Dahieh ( ar, الضاحية الجنوبية, lit=the southern suburb, french: Banlieue Sud de Beyrouth, Dâhiye de Beyrouth) is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb, located south of Beirut, in the Baabda District of Lebanon. It is composed of sev ...

district of Beirut, Lebanon. According to Lebanese officials, Israel launched a drone attack.''Prime Minister Saad Hariri'' Hezbollah denied exploding or targeting the drones. It was the first such incident between Israel and Lebanon since the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Background

In July 2019 Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) bases in Iraq. Several Iraqi, Iranian and Israeli officials have attributed the attacks to Israel, but Israel initially did not confirm nor deny its role. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted responsibility for the attacks on 20 August 2019, claiming that "Iran is not immune anywhere". Israel confirmed responsibility for the strikes on 22 August 2019, which was later followed by a US confirmation. A senior researcher at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies stated that an upcoming election and indications that the United States may start

talks Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

with Iran, could be reasons why Israel had "stepped up the pressure".

Reaction

The Israeli military said it does not comment on "foreign reports". Hezbollah leader

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel Def ...

labeled the attack as a "suicide mission" and announced that other Israeli drones will be targeted over Lebanon.

Ron Ben-Yishai Ron Ben-Yishai ( he, רון בן-ישי; born October 26, 1943) is an Israeli journalist. A veteran war correspondent, Ben-Yishai has covered many military conflicts in several different regions. In 2018, he won the Israel Prize, Israel's most ...

reported for Ynet that the drones were Iranian-made, apparent by their models. Amos Harel, writing for ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', stated that the attack was attributed to Israel and damaged an Iranian-supplied planetary mixer used for making "propellants that can improve the engine performance of missiles and increase their accuracy." '' The Guardian'' cites sources saying that Israel sent the drones to "disrupt efforts by Hezbollah to fit advanced guidance systems to rudimentary rockets."

Aftermath

Israeli jets made low altitude flights over Sidon, according to the Lebanese National News Agency. Hezbollah leader

said he would down Israeli drones over Lebanon skies from now on. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the drones amounted to an open attack on the country's sovereignty.Hezbollah chief: 'We will down Israeli drones in Lebanon skies'
/ref> According to the Lebanese National News Agency, Israeli aircraft attacked a PFLP-GC base in Qousaya Lebanon the following day.

References

{{Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2010s in Beirut 2019 in Lebanon August 2019 events in Lebanon Conflicts in 2019 Drone warfare Israel–Lebanon relations Hezbollah–Israel conflict Iran–Israel proxy conflict

Background

Reaction

Aftermath

See also

References