The Israel Defense Forces fired an Iron Dome interceptor missile at a small unmanned aircraft that entered the country from Lebanon Friday, but missed it, the military said. The infiltration and failed interception attempts triggered air raid sirens across wide swaths of Israel’s north.
The IDF said it also scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters to deal with the aircraft, which entered Israel a day after the army shot down two other drones that entered its airspace, one of them from Lebanon.
“A drone was spotted flying from Lebanese territory toward Israel. The drone crossed into our territory and its flight path was tracked by detection systems. Helicopters and fighter jets were activated, an Iron Dome interceptor was fired without a successful intercepting it, and sirens were activated on the home front. After a few minutes, the drone returned to Lebanon,” the IDF said.
The military said the unmanned aircraft was a “glider” variety, but did not immediately comment further on the exact model of drone. It was not immediately clear if it had been armed.
The drone infiltration from Lebanon triggered sirens in communities throughout the Galilee and the lower Golan Heights, including the towns of Rosh Pina, Mishmar Hayarden, Kfar Hanasi and others, the military said.
Moments later a second round of sirens was set off by the launching of the Iron Dome interceptor missile at the drone, an IDF spokesperson said.
On Sunday, Israeli troops accidentally opened fire on an IDF drone near the Lebanese border, after suspecting it was an enemy aircraft.
Source: The Times of Israel