IDF says missile was launched from Lebanon towards Haifa area

The incident comes days after Hezbollah on Wednesday said that it would "respect" the temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

 Smoke rises on the Lebanese side near the border with Israel, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon November 22, 2023 (photo credit: REUTERS/ALAA AL-MARJANI)
Smoke rises on the Lebanese side near the border with Israel, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon November 22, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALAA AL-MARJANI)

The IDF said early Saturday morning that a missile was fired from Lebanon towards on IDF aircraft that was remotely piloted in the Haifa area.

The surface-to-air missile was shot down and intercepted with no damage to the Israeli aircraft, and it failed to cross into Israeli territory.

The echoes of a strong explosion were then heard at around 2:45 a.m. in the Haifa Bay Area, but the Home Front Command's alerts were not activated in response to the attack.

In response to the launch, IAF fighter jets attacked a terror infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

An interceptor was also reportedly launched at the Upper Galilee area, an IDF spokesperson said, but said that "the incident was over."

 Smoke rises on the Lebanese side near the border with Israel, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon November 21, 2023 (credit: ALAA AL-MARJANI/REUTERS)
Smoke rises on the Lebanese side near the border with Israel, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon November 21, 2023 (credit: ALAA AL-MARJANI/REUTERS)

The incident comes days after Hezbollah on Wednesday said that it would "respect" the temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a source in the Lebanese group told Al Jazeera.

Later in the morning

Red alert sirens for unknown aircraft sounded on Saturday morning in the northern Israel including in the moshavs Ramot Naftali and Dishon, as well as the Yiftah Kibbutz.

This is a developing story.