IDF again intercepts missile fired at drone from Lebanon as skirmishes on northern border continue

Iran's Quds Force commander in Lebanon to coordinate war against Israel

Israel Defense Forces intercepted a surface-to-air missile (SAM) fired from Lebanon at an Israeli drone, the army stated Thursday morning after a similar event on Wednesday night.

The Israeli drone was not damaged in the incident.

In response, the IDF conducted airstrikes against the launch site and the squad responsible for the fired missile.

In addition, the IDF detected several launches from Lebanon toward the area of Mount Dov in Israel, which fell in open areas. Israeli artillery forces shelled the source of the fire in response.

Throughout Wednesday, border skirmishes initiated by the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah continued.

Among other events, the IDF thwarted a terror squad attempting to fire an anti-tank missile at an Israeli target with tank fire, and several rockets were fired toward Israel but didn’t cause notable damage or injuries.

Hezbollah has lost about 50 terrorists in skirmishes so far, according to the Alma Research and Education Center.

The commander of Iran’s Quds Force unit, Esmail Qaani, arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday to coordinate the continuation of the conflict against Israel with Hezbollah, Lebanese al-Jadeed news reported.

Qaani, whose unit is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is “working for peace and security in the region and fighting terrorism,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Iranian media, adding that Iran is not giving direct orders to its proxies in the region.

Qaani’s visit to Lebanon comes shortly before a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that is scheduled for Friday. It is expected that the Hezbollah chief will indicate whether the terror organization will enter the war against Israel more broadly.

Qaani replaced Qassem Soleimani as the head of the Quds Force, which largely supports its regional proxies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Soleimani was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June 2020 in Baghdad, Iraq, on the order of former U.S. President Donald Trump.