UN peacekeepers in Lebanon shot down an Israeli drone

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said 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 the Israeli army.

Unifil said the drone had flown in an “aggressive manner” near the border town of Kfar Qila and that peacekeepers had implemented the “necessary defensive countermeasures”.

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

“Initial investigation suggests that Unifil forces located nearby deliberately fired at the drone and brought it down. The drone activity did not pose a threat to Unifil forces,” spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani posted on X.

He said Israeli forces later threw a grenade at the area where the drone fell.

“It must be emphasized that no fire was directed at Unifil forces. The incident is being further looked into through military coordination channels,” he added.

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

“Moments later, an Israeli tank fired at the peacekeepers. Fortunately, there were no injuries or damage to the peacekeepers or Unifil assets.”

Despite a ceasefire that took effect last November that ended the war with the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Israel has continued to fly drones over Lebanon and carry out airstrikes 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 violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The downing of an Israeli drone was a rare action by Unifil, which has operated on Lebanon’s southern border since 1978 and is about to begin a year-long withdrawal from the country in late 2026.

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

The latest outbreak comes amid continued tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border despite a truce 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 authorized to deploy armed personnel to the area south of Litani, but Israel maintains positions at several strategic border sites and has stepped up airstrikes in recent weeks against what it says are 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 power in the south.

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

US envoy Tom Barak is also due to return to Beirut ahead of the arrival of US ambassador-to-be Michel Issa, who is due to take over the Lebanese portfolio next month.