The IDF launched an interceptor toward a suspicious aerial target detected near Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon, the military announced on Monday. No alerts were activated, in accordance with military policy.
The incident marks the second time in two days that Israeli forces in Lebanon have faced an unidentified aerial threat, with the defense establishment still unable to explain either incident.
During Sunday night's suspected aerial infiltration from Lebanon, the object was initially detected deep inside Lebanese territory, some distance from the Israeli border. It was flying at low altitude and high speed near the northern Israeli community of Arab al-Aramshe when it was detected by Israel Air Force radar. The information was subsequently relayed to the Galilee Division's surveillance operations center.
IDF surveillance soldiers identified the suspicious object and captured it on camera, but it disappeared shortly afterward, reportedly after crossing into Israeli territory. The military has yet to determine what the object was or what happened to it.
A military source in the IDF's Northern Command said officials had considered the possibility from the outset that the object was not a hostile aircraft.
"There were officials who, from the very first stage, claimed that it was a group of balloons tied together that had been carried by the wind," he said.
Overnight search operations utilized to determine circumstances of incident
Search operations continued overnight, with additional forces deployed at first light to locate the object or recover evidence that could help determine what happened.
Meanwhile, officials in the IDF's Intelligence Directorate used intelligence capabilities to verify the circumstances of the incident.
As of Monday, no new information had emerged to identify the object, and the military had provided no additional details about the separate aerial threat detected earlier that morning.
The two incidents have left the IDF without clear answers about the nature of the unidentified aerial threats facing its forces in southern Lebanon.