JERUSALEM: Lebanon’s Hezbollah said its air defences downed an Israeli attack drone over southern Lebanon on Monday, and the Israeli military confirmed the loss of the drone.

“A surface-to-air missile was launched toward an Israeli Air Force UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that was operating in Lebanese airspace. As a result, the UAV was damaged and fell in Lebanese territory,” the Israeli military said.

Hezbollah said in a statement it hit an Hermes 900 aircraft, an Israeli-made reconnaissance and attack drone.

Two dead, fires in south Lebanon after Israeli strikes: state media

Lebanon’s southern border has seen an uptick in hostilities over the past week, with both the Israeli military and Hezbollah striking locations outside the border strip where the exchanges of fire have been concentrated, and with increased intensity.

On Saturday, two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of Aitaroun.

Hezbollah said its fighters retaliated on the same day by firing rockets on Malkia, in northern Israel, followed by a salvo of missiles at a military command centre in northern Israel using the Falaq 2 rockets.