The Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah launched three unmanned aircraft at a region where an Israeli gas platform had just been set up in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Israeli military, which claimed to have shot them down on Saturday.
According to Israeli military sources, the drones were unarmed and posed no threat. A cruiser and a fighter jet both successfully intercepted one drone.
The launch of the aircraft looked to be an effort by Hezbollah to sway negotiations between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime border-an area with a lot of natural gas-that are being mediated by the United States.
The event received a strong warning from Israel's interim prime minister, Yair Lapid, despite the Israeli claim that the planes were seen early on and did not constitute an "imminent threat."
"I stand before you at this moment and say to everyone seeking our demise, from Gaza to Tehran, from the shores of Lebanon to Syria: Don't test us," Lapid said during his first address to the nation who had just taken office last Friday. "Israel knows how to use its strength against every threat, against every enemy."
Israel claims that a portion of the Karish field is within its internationally acknowledged economic seas, and Israel set up a gas rig there earlier this month. According to Lebanon, these waters are in dispute.
In a brief statement, Hezbollah acknowledged that it had sent three unarmed drones on a reconnaissance mission toward the contentious maritime problem over the Karish field. "The mission was accomplished and the message was received," it said.
Bitter rivals Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a month-long conflict in the summer of 2006. With an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles pointed at Israel, Israel views the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah as its greatest immediate threat.
Both nations claim a portion of the Mediterranean Sea that measures around 860 square kilometers (330 square miles), and the two have been formally at war since Israel's founding in 1948. Lebanon, which is struggling with the greatest economic crisis in its recent history, aims to take advantage of offshore gas deposits.
The Israeli military reported that the interceptions on Saturday marked the first time an approaching target had been brought down by an air defense system placed on an Israeli naval ship.
Najib Mikati, the prime minister of Lebanon, told reporters on Saturday that Lebanon had received "encouraging information" relating to the border conflict, but he would not elaborate, saying Beirut was awaiting the "written official response to the suggestions by the Lebanese side."
