Israel admits to monitoring 3 Hezbollah drones… one of which took footage after it infiltrated the northern city of Haifa

The Israeli media said on Tuesday that an investigation conducted by the Israeli army on Sunday showed that it had monitored 3 Hezbollah photo drones that infiltrated the northern city of Haifa, one of which the party published footage earlier in the day.

The Ynet website of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted an unnamed army officer as saying that the army’s preliminary investigation shows that Hezbollah launched three photo drones towards Israel, which the Israeli Air Force followed.

“One of them was shot down, the second disappeared from radar, as it is believed to have fallen into the sea, while the third infiltrated the city of Haifa and other areas in the north of the country,” he said.

According to the IDF investigation, the drone was under its control, but it decided not to shoot it down because it knew it was a photography drone, not an explosion, and firing anti-aircraft missiles at it creates fear among the residents and may cause damage.

“The drone launched by Hizbullah, a Hudhud-1 type, is actually a small drone with a GoPro action camera, and it didn’t have an anti-aircraft gun on it,” he said.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the IDF has been working in recent weeks to develop air defense capabilities in the face of difficulties in dealing with Hezbollah drones, especially armed ones, and tries to distinguish between drones that take pictures and don’t cause damage, and armed ones that attack and cause damage to residents and property.

Earlier Tuesday, Hezbollah released what it said were aerial reconnaissance footage in northern Israel obtained by its drones but not being detected by the Israeli military.

The beginning of the video shows aerial footage of some Israeli settlements, including Kiryat Shmona and Nahariya, and the Rafael Military Industries Complex, which includes a large number of factories, warehouses and experimental fields, the party attached to the video.

It also has the manufacture and assembly of effective air defense systems, especially the Iron Dome, which covers an area of 6.5 square kilometers, and is 24 kilometers from the Lebanese border.

The video shows the company’s observation scenes, followed by a rocket engine test tunnel, air defense missile depots, and an Iron Dome platform, all of which are scattered in densely wooded areas.

The video also showed footage it said were of control and guidance plants, the company’s own administrative buildings, and a missile test radar.

These developments coincide with a visit by US envoy Amos Hochstein to Lebanon from Israel and a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut.

The US envoy said in a speech after the meeting, “We’re going through difficult times and we want decisive solutions to the situation on the border with southern Lebanon”.

Hochstein, whose country supports Israel in its war on the Palestinians, added that “a ceasefire in Gaza would also lead to an end to the border escalation between Lebanon and Israel”.

In recent weeks, the Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon has witnessed a remarkable escalation, and the United States has repeatedly called for its containment.

Since October 8, 2023, Palestinian and Lebanese factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have exchanged daily bombardment with the Israeli army, resulting in hundreds of dead and wounded, most of them on the Lebanese side.