The Israel Defense Forces had preliminary intelligence about Hezbollah’s launch of three unarmed drones on Saturday at the Karish gas field off Israel’s Mediterranean coast and believed it was an attempt to deliver a message to Israel.
One of the aircraft was shot down by an F-16 fighter jet and the other two by Barak 8 missiles fired from the Saar 5 Class Corvette INS Eilat. According to defense officials, all three were intercepted “at a safe distance from” the drilling rig.
Military spokesman Ran Kochav told Kan public radio on Sunday morning that the terror group’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah, “thought he would catch [Israel] unprepared.”
“But we are ready in terms of our early warning systems and in terms of intelligence, navy and air force, to protect Israel’s assets,” Kochav said.
He said Hezbollah had “suffered a significant operational failure” in its thwarted attempt to deliver a message to Israel.
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Kohav added that Israel’s sovereignty was not violated in the incident, indicating that the UAVs were shot down over Lebanon’s UN-recognized territorial waters.
Tensions around Karish have risen in recent weeks after a gas production vessel arrived in Israel to begin production operations in the offshore field. This drew condemnation from Lebanon, which laid claim to parts of the field. Israel claims Karish is part of its UN-recognized exclusive economic zone.
Nasrallah recently threatened Israel over its plans to extract gas from the disputed offshore reserve, saying his organization is capable of preventing such action, including by force.
But both the Israeli military and Hezbollah said the drones launched Saturday afternoon were not armed and were being used for surveillance purposes and to demonstrate the terror group’s ability to get close to the platform.
Hezbollah said the mission was carried out successfully and “a message was delivered”.
An Iron Dome maritime air defense system is seen on a Navy vessel guarding the Energean production, storage and offloading vessel in the Karish gas field, in footage released by the military on July 2, 2022. (Israel Defense Forces)
Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations and are considered adversaries, have been in indirect US-brokered talks for nearly two years to resolve a maritime border dispute.
But talks over the field have been frozen since last year after Lebanon tried to push its claim further into the area Israel claims as its own. Last month, the Biden administration said recent meetings between its energy envoy and Israeli and Lebanese officials had led to progress.
Israel and Lebanon each claim about 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea as their exclusive economic zones.
Both countries have economic interests in the territory, which contains lucrative natural gas. Lebanon, which has faced an economic crisis since late 2019, sees resources as a potential lifeline.
Last month, the IDF held a major military exercise in Cyprus, simulating a ground offensive deep into Lebanon in a potential war against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The terror group has long been a serious opponent of IS, with an estimated arsenal of nearly 150,000 missiles and rockets capable of reaching anywhere in Israel.
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