Eleven Israeli soldiers crossed the barbed wire technical fence at Kroum al-Shiraki but did not trespass the Blue Line, the sources said on Tuesday.

The troops surveyed the area for approximately 15 minutes, during which they scanned the area with a detector.

The Israeli soldiers found three pieces of an Israeli spy drone that had fallen earlier that day under mysterious circumstances next to Mays al-Jabal, security sources said.

As they were recovering the drone’s parts, the Israeli troops shot in the air to discourage Lebanese Army soldiers stationed by the Blue Line from approaching.

The Israeli soldiers then withdrew and Lebanese Army and UNIFIL troops mobilized in Mays al-Jabal.

In a statement, the Lebanese Army said an Israeli patrol “tried to pull the wreckage of an Israeli drone and then shot bullets into the air” at 3:30 p.m. following the crash of the aircraft close to the Blue Line in the border area of Mays al-Jabal on the Israeli side.

“The Army units deployed in the area took appropriate defense measures to prevent the enemy’s forces from entering Lebanese lands,” the military added.

Earlier in the day, a convoy of Israeli soldiers driving a bulldozer and two large Hummer SUVs made their way to the Israeli settlement of Metula and began excavations around the technical fence close to the Blue Line.

Israeli troops in military vehicles simultaneously patrolled close to the technical fence, starting at Metula and passing along the Wazzani River before reaching the occupied Shebaa Farms.

Israeli warplanes also flew over the Farms and the occupied Golan Heights.

Four smoke grenades, originating from Israeli artillery emplacements deep in the farms, landed on the western side of Shebaa. An Israeli Apache helicopter also flew over the area.

BA/BA