Hezbollah strikes down advanced Israeli drone

Press TV – April 7, 2024

Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has released a video of its downing an advanced Israeli reconnaissance drone violating the country’s airspace.

“The drone belonging to the Israeli army, which was shot down by the Islamic resistance fighters over Lebanese territory on the evening of Saturday, April 6, 2024, is of type Hermes 900,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said the drone had crashed in Lebanese territory after being hit by a surface-to-air missile.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, which is widely used by the occupying entity and its allies, is primarily deployed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) purposes.

It has a wingspan of 15 meters, weighs 970 kilograms, and reaches a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet. Known by its Hebrew name “Kochav,” the aircraft is the second-largest reconnaissance drone in the Israeli air force and is priced at $6 million.

The Israeli regime has been waging sporadic attacks against the Lebanese soil since October 7, when it launched a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip that has so far claimed the lives of around 33,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Hezbollah has been retaliating against the attacks, and also conducting daily operations against targets lying throughout the occupied territories in solidarity with the war-hit Gazans.

The resistance movement fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006, forcing a humiliating retreat upon the Tel Aviv regime’s military in both cases.

The movement has vowed to resolutely defend Lebanon in case of any other Israeli-imposed warfare.