A German Navy warship participating in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has downed a drone off the coast of Lebanon, a military spokesperson told DPA on Thursday.
The Ludwigshafen am Rhein corvette repelled an approaching drone around 7 a.m. (0400 GMT), the spokesman for Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, said.
The drone was reportedly downed in the immediate vicinity of the warship, about 30 kilometers northwest of Naqoura port, where UNIFIL’s headquarters are located.
The crew was able to recover the drone and is now investigating it.
The incident comes amid rising tensions in Lebanon, where UNIFIL forces have repeatedly come under fire during Israel’s ground offensive against the Hezbollah militia.
The peacekeeping force has monitored the border area between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, but at least five of its troops have been injured in clashes in recent days, drawing international condemnation.
UNIFIL said on Wednesday that an Israeli tank fired at one of its watchtowers, following an incident last week in which tanks forcibly broke through the main gate of a UN base.
Israel accuses fighters from Iran-backed Hezbollah of using areas near UNIFIL bases for its own purposes and has called for the immediate withdrawal of peacekeepers from the combat zone in southern Lebanon.
Currently, more than 10,000 troops from more than 50 countries are deployed with UNIFIL.
Germany provided approximately 60 crew members aboard the Ludwigshafen am Rhein, as well as 40 troops at its headquarters in Naqoura.
The Bundeswehr spokesman said its forces in Lebanon are in a “situation of increased risk” and “appropriate protective measures” are currently being taken.
