Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on 22 February that Israeli warplanes flew over Saida and Tyre on the country’s southern coast, as well as in the region’s western and central areas at very low altitudes.

The NNA added that the fighter jets broke the sound barrier over towns and villages, also flying at medium altitudes over the southern areas of Nabatiyeh and Iqlim al-Tuffah.

At the same time Hermes style Israeli drone hovered at a low altitude over Israel’s Metulla without crossing the border into Lebanon.

The illegal incursion came just days after Israeli jets soared overhead in the skies of southern Beirut at a low altitude, producing loud sounds that were heard across the region.

Meanwhile, the flyover on 18 February was a response to a Hezbollah drone that overcame all Israeli air defense systems and flew over the occupied territories for about 40 minutes, despite earlier claims by Tel Aviv of having shot down the drone.

Recently, Hezbollah has stepped up its air capabilities, presenting a new threat to Israel’s longstanding monopoly over air warfare in the region.

In a speech this week, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the resistance movement has been producing their own military drones in Lebanon.

He also claimed Hezbollah’s military wing possesses the technology to convert thousands of its old missile stockpiles into precision-guided missiles, while adding that Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon is solely to protect the country.

“We insist on strengthening and equipping the army and we also insist that the assistance should not come from a single side,” the resistance leader said.