AL-MANAR TV : HEZBOLLAH DENIES SENDING DRONE OVER ISRAEL

        Beirut, 17 Jumadil akhir 1434/26 April 2013 (MINA) – Hezbollah said Thursday it did not send a drone over Israel, hours after the Israeli air force said it shot down an unmanned aircraft off the country’s northern coast.

      “Hezbollah denies sending any unmanned drone towards occupied Palestine,” the movement’s television channel al-Manar said, without elaborating.

       Israel’s deputy defense minister earlier put the blame squarely on Hezbollah, which had said it was behind a previous drone infiltration on October 7.

       “An unmanned aircraft (UAV) was identified approaching the coast of Israel and was successfully intercepted by IAF aircraft five nautical miles off the coast of Haifa at approximately 2:00 p.m. today,” the Israeli military said, according to Ma’an News Agency report monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

        Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I see this attempt to breach our borders as extremely grave. We will continue to do whatever we must to protect the security of Israel’s citizens.”

        Israel’s deputy defense minister, Danny Danon, said it was clear that Hezbollah was behind the incident.

       “We’re talking about another attempt by Hezbollah to send an unmanned drone into Israeli territory,” he told Israel’s army radio, describing it as “another attempt to destabilize the Middle East.”

       However, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner was cautious, saying the incident was still being investigated.

       “We don’t know where the aircraft was coming from and where it was actually going,” he said, adding that the navy was “searching for the remains of the UAV.” (T/P012/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).