Israeli artillery shells southern Lebanon, drone drops incendiary devices along border

As Reported by Qods News Agency (Qodsna) Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that Israeli forces launched several 155-millimeter shells on the Jabal al-Rous area in the occupied Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba Hills on Sunday afternoon.

العدو الاسرائیلی یستهدف المزارع فی جبل الروس وتلال کفرشوبا بالقذائف ویلقی قنابل حارقة فی مزرعة بسطرة https://t.co/hOufYZM7RN

— National News Agency (@NNALeb) September 1, 2019

The report added that the Israeli forces opened fire from their posts in the al-Zaoura area in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

An Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle, meanwhile, dropped incendiary devices on a forest in the border area of Bastara.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that the drone entered Lebanese airspace at 11:15 a.m. local time (0815 GMT) on Sunday, and dropped an unspecified number of devices, causing fires in some areas.

خرقت طائرة مسیّرة تابعة للعدو الإسرائیلی بتاریخ ١/ ٩/ ٢٠١٩ الساعة ١١.١٥ الأجواء اللبنانیة من فوق مزرعة بسطرة، وقامت بإلقاء مواد حارقة

على أحراج السندیان فی المنطقة، مما أدى إلى نشوب حریق.#الجیش_اللبنانی#Lebanesearmyhttps://t.co/A0zUEBHOpe

— الجیش اللبنانی (@LebarmyOfficial) September 1, 2019

It added that the army would continue to follow up on Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Images published by the private LBCI television network showed smoke rising from a tree-covered hill, reportedly caused by the weapons.

هکذا أطفأ الأهالی الحرائق فی أحراج مزرعة بسطرة اللبنانیة (فیدیو)#لبنان #LBCINewshttps://t.co/NC8EEmGbQ3

 

— LBCI Lebanon News (@LBCI_NEWS) September 1, 2019

Tensions have been high recently between Israel and the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah in connection with the Israeli attacks on August 25 in Syria and Lebanon. Hezbollah has pledged to retaliate.

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday evening that the resistance movement was determined to give a response to Israel over its recent drone incursion into Lebanon.

"The need for a response is decided," he said during a televised speech ahead of the Islamic lunar calendar month of Muharram – the 10th day of which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam and Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

The Hezbollah chief added that the response was about “establishing the rules of engagement and... the logic of protection for the country. Israel must pay a price,” he said.

Hezbollah chief says the group is determined to respond to a last week Israeli drone incursion.

“Israel should know that the Lebanese air space is not open to her,” Nasrallah said, adding that the Israel attack could open the door to assassinations if left unanswered.

Nasrallah noted that the response to the Israeli attack could come from anywhere in Lebanon and not only from the Shebaa Farms south of the country, where Hezbollah normally stations most of its military equipment.

“The response will come from Lebanon. We will choose the place and time,” he said.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun denounce a recent Israeli drone attack as a “threat to regional stability,” which meant to fuel tensions.

On August 26, Hezbollah said Israel had sent two drones into Lebanon on a bombing mission the previous weekend.

According to the resistance movement, the first drone had fallen on a building housing Hezbollah’s media office in the suburb of Dahieh. The second drone, which appeared to have been sent by Israel to search for the first one, had crashed in an empty plot nearby after being detonated in the air, it added.

Nasrallah says Hezbollah resistance movement will not tolerate any further violation of the Lebanese airspace by intruding Israeli drones.

Following the drone raids, Nasrallah vowed in a televised speech that fighters of the resistance movement would counter any further violation of the Lebanese airspace by Israeli drones.