The IDF says troops have ruled out a parachute or infiltration after an unidentified aerial object from Lebanon triggered sirens in Arab al-Aramshe, though the object has still not been identified.
The IDF says troops have ruled out a parachute or any infiltration into Israeli territory after an unidentified aerial object from Lebanon set off sirens in Arab al-Aramshe on Saturday night. The military has still not established what the object was.
The IDF said its lookouts picked up the object near the Lebanese border after the alert, which the military's statement timed at 7:57 p.m. The Jerusalem Post put the start of the incident at about 8 p.m. The IDF said trackers and troops were still scanning the area and had found nothing unusual so far. It added that residents could keep to their normal routines and that there were no special instructions for civilians.
Ynet reported that many members of the local rapid-response teams activated on Saturday evening in communities near the Lebanese border stayed on duty into Sunday as the searches went on.
After the alert, the IDF sent large numbers of troops into Western Galilee communities, including Adamit, Hanita, Shlomi, Kabri, Nahariya and Rosh Hanikra, while helicopters joined the search from the air. Overnight, security forces also checked a possible infiltration from the sea near Nahariya, which was later ruled out. The military's first official statement came roughly four hours after the object crossed the border.
The outlet also published security camera footage of the object and reported that the army is examining whether it was a drone model unfamiliar to Israel's defense establishment. A military source told Walla that a powered paraglider could not be ruled out. The source said the search began around Arab al-Aramshe and later widened to other locations along the border.
Moshe Davidovich, who leads the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairs the Confrontation Line Forum, said he had contacted the commander of the IDF Northern Command to request a meeting with the heads of the frontline local authorities.
"We are aware of the questions raised by the incident, and because of the lack of clarity, I urgently contacted the Northern Command commander this morning to demand an immediate meeting with me and all the heads of the frontline local authorities, to receive a full, clear and unequivocal investigation into the incident," Davidovich said.
Several hostile aircraft infiltration alerts sounded in the Upper Galilee in September. On September 2, alerts in Dafna, Hagoshrim, Kfar Yuval and Ma'ayan Baruch led to interceptor launches, and the IDF later assessed that a false target had set them off. On September 10, the IDF declared alerts in Ghajar, Kfar Yuval and Hagoshrim a false alarm.
Separately, as JFeed reported, the IDF said it fired an interceptor on Sunday at a suspicious aerial target over southern Lebanon. The military said the results are under review and that no sirens were activated, in line with policy.
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