Fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement have intercepted and shot down an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle as it was flying in the skies over southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s al-Manar television channel, citing a brief Hezbollah statement, reported that the group targeted and downed an Israeli Hermes 900 drone with appropriate weapons over Lebanese territory on Saturday afternoon, Press TV reported. 

The statement noted that the operation was carried out following careful monitoring of the Zionist enemy’s moves.

The Israeli military later confirmed in a statement that one of its drones had been shot down over southern Lebanon.

It says the Hermes 900 drone was hit by a surface-to-air missile while operating in the area.

The Hermes 900 is a medium-sized drone, which reportedly has the endurance to fly for over 36 hours and up to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and can carry a maximum payload of 350 kilograms.