Israeli military drone crashes in Lebanon

Tensions already high after strikes on Syrian army positions

An Israeli self-propelled howitzer, pictured near the border amid heightened tensions (AFP )

An Israeli military drone has crashed inside Lebanon amid heightened tensions along the border with Syria and Lebanon.

A fighter from the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was killed this week in an apparent Israeli strike on the edge of Damascus.

It led to a series of cross-border exchanges between Israel and Syria. Israel has increased its troop presence along the borders with Lebanon and Syria since Friday’s strikes on Syrian army positions.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the drone crashed because of a technical failure.

The military said the drone went down over Lebanese territory “during operational activities” along the border.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes and drones flew over southern Lebanon throughout Sunday.

Israel says its strikes on Friday were in response to munitions being fired on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The exchanges came after an air raid on Damascus – believed to have been carried out by Israel – that killed five foreign fighters, including a member of Hezbollah.

Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz met army brass on Sunday near the country’s northern frontier, and said that Israel “has no interests in Syria or Lebanon, aside from security interests, and we will continue to protect them.

“We are not seeking unnecessary escalation, but if we are tested, we have high operative capacity, which I hope we will not need to put to use,” he said.

Israel and Hezbollah fought to a draw in a month-long war in Lebanon in 2006.

Hezbollah has previously vowed to respond to the killing of its forces in Syria.

Additional reporting by agencies