Hezbollah crosses border

last updated 8 January 2015

Nazariyah, Israel

The Shiite militant group Hezbollah sent an unmanned drone from Lebanon into Israeli airspace for the first time this week. The aerial drone, which was unarmed, penetrated a few miles into Israel, to the port city of Nazariyah, before crashing into the sea. Hezbollah called the flight “a natural response to the Zionist enemy’s repeated and permanent violations of Lebanese airspace.” An Israeli army statement said the flight was evidence of the Lebanese government’s lack of control over “activities carried out from within its territory—something which may cause harm to Lebanon and its citizens.” Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, is backed by Iran and Syria and is dedicated to the annihilation of Israel.