Hamas Describes Hizbullah Drone as 'Historical Achievement'

Hamas described on Saturday Hizbullah's drone that penetrated Israeli airspace as a “great strategic accomplishment.”

“Hizbullah is carrying out a psychological political battle against Israel,” senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said.

He pointed out that Hizbullah's launch of the Iranian-made drone will “deeply affect the Israeli leadership.”

Hizbullah's Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledgment of the drone which Israel shot down on October 6 came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed at Hizbullah and vowed to defend his country against further "threats."

The infiltration marked a rare breach of Israel's tightly guarded airspace. Hizbullah had been the leading suspect because of its arsenal of sophisticated Iranian weapons and a history of trying to deploy similar aircraft.

In July 2006, the Israeli military shot down an unarmed drone operated by Hizbullah over the Jewish state's territorial waters.

And on April 12, 2005, another pilotless Hizbullah aircraft succeeded in overflying part of northern Israel without being downed.

Israel routinely sends F-16 fighter planes over Lebanon, in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. The Israeli planes have often broken the sound barrier over Beirut and other places as a show of strength, most recently after the drone incident.