Unmanned, Hezbollah aircraft infiltrates Israeli airspace Saturday morning; IAF fighter jets intercept aircraft shortly thereafter; IDF: Aircraft departed from Lebanon and did not carry explosives


The aircraft was shot down by four F-16I jets in an open area in the northern Negev region, and its remains were scattered in an open area in the south Mount Hebron region. Army forces were alerted to the scene in order to collect the remains of drone, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.


According to an initial investigation, the drone penetrated Israeli airspace at around 10 am after flying over the Mediterranean Sea, near Gaza. The Air Force detected the drone as it approached Gaza's coastline, and F-16I fighter jets were scrambled from the Ramon army base in the Negev to shoot it down.


The IDF has found that the launch origin of the drone was Lebanon. The aircraft's country of origin has not yet been confirmed. It flew over Israel for less than 30 minutes and did not carry any explosives on it.


IDF Spokesperson Yoav Mordechai said that the aircraft was monitored and accompanied by fighter planes throughout its flight and that it was possible to shoot it down at any stage, "however, it was decided to intercept the aircraft near southern Mount Hebron for safety reasons."