IDF claims Hezbollah drone struck Israel's giant missile-detecting airship, report says
Christopher Furlong | Getty Images
- The IDF has claimed Hezbollah hit its "Sky Dew" radar balloon, a report says.
- The balloon is part of Israel's missile detection system.
- The IDF responded by striking Hezbollah sites, an IDF spokesperson said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that a Hezbollah drone struck a large missile-detecting airship known as "Sky Dew," Israeli outlet Ynetnews reported.
The radar-detecting balloon was deployed around 21 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border in an area called Golani Junction, the report said.
"There were no casualties and no impact to the IDF's aerial situational awareness capability in the area," IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, per Ynet News.
The sytem was designed to add to Israel's air defenses by detecting incoming missiles and drones, officials have said, per The Times of Israel.
The Israeli Air Force received the airship in 2022.
Yesterday, the IAF officially received the "Tal Shamaim" platform developed in cooperation with the @Israel_MOD and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). pic.twitter.com/MyjDFjLlU8
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 23, 2022
It comes amid increasing tensions with the Hezbollah militant group, which has carried out a number of strikes on Israel following the latter's invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Its attacks have ramped up in recent weeks after the IDF's operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Earlier this week, the group struck a military post in northern Israel with two missiles fired from a drone, leaving three soldiers wounded.
Following news of the alleged attack on the Sky Dew airship, Hagari said: "On the northern border, we attacked a complex of weapons manufacturing and storage sites belonging to Hezbollah's missile precision project overnight in response to the strike on the military site near Golani Junction, which hit the balloon on the ground during its operational acceptance process," per Ynetnews.
The Lebanese political analyst Faisal Abdul-Sater, who closely follows Hezbollah, previously told the Associated Press that Hezbollah was "sending messages on the ground to the Israeli enemy."
He said they were showing Israel: "This is part of what we have, and if needed we can strike more."
Business Insider contacted the IDF for comment.