JERUSALEM (JTA) — The leader of the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for sending a drone into Israeli airspace.
Hassan Nasrallah in a televised speech Thursday admitted to sending the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, which was followed, then intercepted and shot down over the northern Negev by Israeli troops on Oct. 6.
The admission came several hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying that Hezbollah was responsible for launching the drone.
"We are acting with determination to protect our borders, as we prevented last weekend an attempt by Hezbollah," Netanyahu said, according to his office.
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said the aircraft was identified before entering Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean and was downed in accordance with a decision of the IDF’s top leaders.
The UAV reportedly was not carrying explosives and may have been a surveillance drone.
Nasrallah said the drone was Iranian made and "flew over sensitive installations" in Israel, according to Reuters.
