UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon shoots down Israeli drone

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon says it shot down an Israeli drone that flew over a patrol operating in the south of the country on Sunday, in the latest incident involving the force and Israel’s military.

Unifil said the drone was flying in an “aggressive manner” near the border town of Kfar Kila and that peacekeepers applied “necessary defensive countermeasures”.

The Israeli military, however, said the drone was carrying out “routine intelligence-gathering activity”.

“An initial inquiry suggests that Unifil forces stationed nearby deliberately fired at the drone and downed it. The drone’s activity did not pose a threat to Unifil forces,” spokesman Lt Col Nadav Shoshani posted on X.

He said Israeli forces later dropped a grenade towards the area where the drone fell.

“It should be emphasised that no fire was directed at Unifil forces. The incident is being further reviewed through military coordination channels,” he added.

Unifil said the grenade was dropped by another Israeli drone “close” to a patrol.

“Moments later, an Israeli tank fired a shot towards the peacekeepers. Fortunately, no injury or damage was caused to the Unifil peacekeepers and assets.”

Despite a ceasefire that came into force last November that ended the war with the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, Israel has continued to fly drones over Lebanon and carry out air strikes on people and targets in Lebanon it says are linked to the group.

The military says it is acting to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping and rearming.

The UN and the Lebanese government say Israel’s actions are a violation of the country’s sovereignty and in breach of the ceasefire deal.

Downing an Israeli drone is a rare action by Unifil, which has been operating on Lebanon’s southern border since 1978 and is set to begin a year-long withdrawal from the country at the end of 2026.

The last known instance occurred in October 2024, when a German naval vessel participating in Unifil intercepted and neutralised a drone off Lebanon’s coast during the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The latest flare-up comes amid ongoing tension along the Israel-Lebanon border despite a ceasefire reached last year.

Under the agreement, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah was to move its fighters north of the Litani River and dismantle its military infrastructure there – a plan the group and its allies strongly oppose.

Only the Lebanese army and Unifil are authorised to deploy armed personnel in the area south of the Litani, but Israel has maintained positions at several strategic border sites and has stepped up air strikes in recent weeks on what it said have been Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure, despite international and domestic pressure.

Lebanon faces an intense week of diplomatic activity aimed at reviving the truce and consolidating state authority in the south.

A new meeting of the US and French-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism – chaired by its recently appointed head, Gen Joseph Clearfield, and attended by US envoy Morgan Ortagus – is expected to take place alongside visits by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad.

US envoy Tom Barrack is also due to return to Beirut ahead of the arrival of incoming US Ambassador Michel Issa, who is set to take over the Lebanon portfolio next month.