Israeli army says it intercepted drones launched from Syria, east

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said Saturday that it intercepted two drones -- one launched from Syria and the other from the east.

The army said it "intercepted a drone in the Golan Heights that was launched from Syria."

In a separate statement, it said that "the air force intercepted a drone heading toward the city of Eilat in the south before it crossed into Israeli territory."

It did not specify the source of the drone that approached from the east.

In recent months, drones launched by "the Islamic Resistance in Iraq" have targeted several locations in Israel, including Eilat.

The announcement of the interceptions came after the Iraqi group claimed to have targeted Eilat and the occupied Golan Heights with drones.

The group said on Telegram that it "attacked a vital target in the occupied Golan using unmanned aerial vehicles."

In another statement, it reported to have "attacked a vital target in the occupied Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) using drones."

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq affirmed its "continuation of operations to strike at the enemy's strongholds at an increasing pace" in support of "our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and in response to the massacres committed by the occupying entity against civilians, including children, women, and the elderly."

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, displacing more than 1.34 million people.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since the start of Tel Aviv’s offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 42,500 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Mideast was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Israel expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala