Lebanon's Hezbollah Confirms it Launched Drones Towards Karish Field

This image grab from a video released by the Israeli army spokesperson's unit on July 2, 2022, shows the interception by the Israeli army of a drone launched by Lebanon's Hezbollah that was headed towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean. (Photo by various sources / AFP)
This image grab from a video released by the Israeli army spokesperson's unit on July 2, 2022, shows the interception by the Israeli army of a drone launched by Lebanon's Hezbollah that was headed towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean. (Photo by various sources / AFP)
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Lebanon's Hezbollah Confirms it Launched Drones Towards Karish Field

This image grab from a video released by the Israeli army spokesperson's unit on July 2, 2022, shows the interception by the Israeli army of a drone launched by Lebanon's Hezbollah that was headed towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean. (Photo by various sources / AFP)
This image grab from a video released by the Israeli army spokesperson's unit on July 2, 2022, shows the interception by the Israeli army of a drone launched by Lebanon's Hezbollah that was headed towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean. (Photo by various sources / AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched three drones towards an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean, after Israel's army said it had intercepted drones belonging to the Iran-backed movement.

"On Saturday afternoon, three unarmed drones were launched towards the disputed Karish field for reconnaissance missions," the Shiite group said in a statement.

"The mission was accomplished," it added, without mentioning any Israeli interception.

The launch of the aircraft appeared to be an attempt by Hezbollah to influence US-brokered negotiations between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime border, an area that is rich in natural gas.

In a statement, the Israeli army said the aircraft were spotted early on and did not pose an "imminent threat.” Nonetheless, the incident drew a stern warning from Israel’s caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid.

"I stand before you at this moment and say to everyone seeking our demise, from Gaza to Tehran, from the shores of Lebanon to Syria: Don’t test us,” Lapid said in his first address to the nation since taking office on Friday. "Israel knows how to use its strength against every threat, against every enemy.”



Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)

Israel launched a large-scale military operation on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists reported, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians "eliminated".

Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.

Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tires and throw stones at armored vehicles.

The Israeli army said that one soldier was "moderately injured" and three others "lightly injured" when two Palestinians attempted to steal a soldier's weapon.

Troops opened fire and "eliminated" both Palestinians, the army said in a statement, using a term the military often uses when killing gunmen.

AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians.

Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from "physical assaults", and dozens more from tear gas inhalation.

It added that many injuries had to be handled within the old city after its ambulances were blocked from entering.

Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

The territory's north has been the target of a major Israeli military operation dubbed "Iron Wall" since January 21.

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers entered shops to search them and arrested several people for questioning, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

The correspondent added that Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings in the Old City that had been turned into temporary bases for Israeli troops.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel.

At least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Authority.

During the same period, least 35 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.