Israel’s military surveillance system destroyed amid relentless Gaza strikes despite ICJ ruling has been targeted by a drone attack from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, in a show of solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza.
The attack came as the Israeli forces continued to bombard the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and artillery fire, despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that ordered Israel to stop its aggression and respect the human rights of the Palestinians.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 26000 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured in the Israeli attacks since October 7, when Hamas launched rockets into Israel in response to its police raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
The ICJ, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, issued a provisional order on January 12, stating that Israel was violating the Geneva Conventions and committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The court also urged Israel to lift its blockade on the coastal enclave and allow humanitarian aid to reach the population.
However, Israel has defied the ICJ ruling and intensified its attacks on Gaza, targeting civilian infrastructure, media offices, hospitals, schools and mosques. Israel has also rejected the US-backed plan for a two-state solution and diplomatic normalization with Arab countries, insisting on its right to defend itself from Hamas.
The Israeli aggression has sparked widespread condemnation and protests across the world, as well as solidarity actions from other resistance groups in the region. On January 25, Hezbollah announced that it had launched a drone attack on the Israeli military surveillance system in the occupied Shebaa Farms area, near the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah said the attack was a “message of support and loyalty” to the Palestinian people and a “warning to the enemy that its assaults on the sanctities and the oppressed people in Gaza will not go unpunished.”
The Israeli military confirmed that it had intercepted a drone near the border, but did not report any damage to its Iron Dome system, which is designed to intercept rockets and missiles. Israel also retaliated by firing shells at several towns in southern Lebanon, causing no casualties.
The drone attack was the first of its kind by Hezbollah since the 2006 war with Israel, and marked a new escalation in the regional conflict. Analysts warn that the situation in the Middle East is rapidly deteriorating and could spiral into a full-scale war if the international community fails to intervene and stop the Israeli aggression.