The Israeli army announced, “The shooting down of a drone that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, in the Zarith settlement area. The drone was monitored by the control system throughout the incident,” noting that “we will continue to act against any violation of our sovereignty.” The Israeli Army Radio quoted a security official as saying that the downed plane belonged to Hezbollah.
And the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, instructed this afternoon, Friday, to call up the reserve forces, especially the offensive units in the Air Force, while the Israeli army announced this morning that it is massing in the southern and northern regions, opposite the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, regular forces of infantry and artillery. And this was in the wake of security deliberations that took place during the previous night.
In a related context, the Israeli army spokesman, Avichai Adraee, indicated that “the commander of the northern region, Major General Uri Gordon, and the head of the foreign relations department, Colonel Effie Defren, met with the commander of the UNIFIL forces, General Aroldo Lazzaro Sainz.” Adraei stated, “The commanders discussed the latest security developments along the border with Lebanon,” pointing out that “the commander of the northern region stressed the responsibility of the Lebanese state and its army with regard to every attack emanating from its territory.”
On the other hand, the American “Axios” website reported, quoting an Israeli official, that “Mossad chief Dadi Barnea supported striking Hezbollah targets, but the Israeli army chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, asked to keep the party out of the equation,” noting that “we achieved the goal of avoiding The clash with Hezbollah, and the prevention of the unification of the two fronts of the “Hamas” movement in the north and the south.
In this context, former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz commented on the security events on Thursday, saying, “Hamas and Hezbollah will pay the price.” In a statement today, Friday, Gantz indicated that “the holy month of Ramadan was supposed to be a period of prayer and a holiday, but there are extremists who exploit freedom of worship for terrorist purposes,” stressing that “the IDF is strong and Israel is strong.”