Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 26 august 2019

Hezbollah leader: Israeli drones over Lebanon will be downed

By ZEINA KARAM allow such matters to pass," neighboring Syria from Leb-
Associated Press he added. anon on several occasions,
BEIRUT (AP) — The leader The downed drones and angering Hezbollah and
of Lebanon's Iran-backed cross-border airstrikes come Lebanese officials, who
Hezbollah said Sunday amid heightened tensions have complained to the
that his group will confront between Israel and Iran, United Nations.
and shoot down any Israeli which backs Hezbollah. The Lebanese Foreign Minis-
drones that enter Leba- Israeli aircraft continued to try counted 481 Israeli viola-
nese airspace from now violate Lebanese airspace tions of Lebanese airspace
on, raising the potential for Sunday, flying low over Bei- in the past two months and
conflict amid heightened rut hours after the drones instructed Lebanon's rep-
regional tensions. crashed, raising fears of a resentative to the U.N. to
Hassan Nasrallah also wider conflict. submit an immediate com-
vowed to retaliate to an Hezbollah spokesman Mo- plaint.
Israeli airstrike inside Syria hammed Afif said a small, Lebanese Prime Minister
that took place hours ear- Broken windows are seen on the 11-floor building that houses unmanned reconnais- Saad Hariri described the
lier, which he said killed two the media office in a stronghold of the Lebanese Hezbollah sance drone fell on a build- crash of the two drones
Hezbollah members. group in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 25, ing housing Hezbollah's me- constitute a threat to re-
Nasrallah's speech came 2019. dia office in the Moawwad gional stability and an at-
after one alleged Israeli neighborhood in Dahyeh, tempt to push the situation
drone crashed in a Hez- and crashed in a plot be- the group did not fire on the group's stronghold in toward more escalation.
bollah stronghold in south hind the building, causing any of the drones. He said southern Beirut. Israel's late-night airstrike
Beirut, landing on the roof material damage, authori- the second drone was like- He said a second drone, Saturday in Syria, which trig-
of a building that houses ties said. ly armed, judging by the which appeared to have gered Syrian anti-aircraft
Hezbollah's media office, A Hezbollah spokesman damage it caused. been sent by Israel to fire, appeared to be one
while another exploded said earlier Sunday that Nasrallah said one of the search for the first one of the most intense attacks
drones had been flying low less than 45 minutes later, by Israeli forces in several
among buildings, calling it exploded in the air and years.
a military "suicide mission" crashed in an empty plot Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus,
and "a clear aggression." nearby, shattering windows a military spokesman, said
He said allowing Israel to in surrounding buildings. Iran's Revolutionary Guards'
keep flying drones over Residents said they heard a Al Quds force, working with
Lebanon would lead to a loud blast that triggered a allied Shiite militias, had
similar situation as in Iraq, nighttime fire. been planning to send a
where a series of attacks There was no immediate number of explosives-lad-
there targeting military bas- Israeli comment on the en attack drones into Israel.
es and weapons depot be- drone incident or Hezbol- Conricus said Israel had
longing to Iranian-backed lah's remarks. monitored the plot for sev-
militias have left the coun- AP journalists on the scene eral months and on Thurs-
try on edge. U.S. officials Sunday said the 11-floor day prevented Iran from
say at least one of them building that houses He- making an "advanced
was carried out by Israel. zbollah's media office as attempt" to execute the
In Saturday's strikes near the well as nearby buildings suf- same plan. Then, Iran tried
Syrian capital, Israel pub- fered minor damage and again late Saturday to car-
licly stated it was thwarting broken glass. On the sec- ry out the same attack, he
an imminent drone strike ond floor, where the group said.
against Israel by Iran's Rev- has its offices, shattered He declined to give specif-
olutionary Guards' Al Quds glass littered the floors and ics on what targets the Ira-
Force. some of the desks were nians intended to strike.
But Nasrallah said the strikes overturned. A portrait of The Syrian Observatory for
actually hit a Hezbollah rest Nasrallah was on a desk lit- Human Rights, a Britain-
house, marking a rare ac- tered with glass. based war monitoring
knowledgement of mem- A Lebanese army state- group, reported that two
ber deaths in Syria by Israeli ment said an Israeli drone Hezbollah members and
strikes. came down while the oth- an Iranian militiaman were
"I tell Israeli soldiers on the er exploded in the sky over killed in the Israeli attack
border (with Lebanon) to Beirut, causing material Saturday night. Israel has
be cautious and wait. May- damage. carried out hundreds of
be in a day or two or three Israeli warplanes regularly attacks in recent years tar-
or four... do not think for a violate Lebanese airspace geting Hezbollah and other
moment that Hezbollah will and have struck inside Iranian targets in Syria. q