Hizballah reported that two drones came down over south Beirut early Sunday, Aug. 25 – one exploding on the roof of its media center and the second coming down 45 minutes later. This was confirmed by Lebanese officials. Hizballah spokesman Muhammed Afif said that their leader Hassan Nasrallah would speak Sunday afternoon and disclose the harsh payback facing Israel for the attack which, he said, was caused by a booby-trapped drone hitting its media center in the Shiite district of Dahya.
The Beirut attack took place just hours after the Israeli air force destroyed several Iranian “killer drones” in Damascus to thwart and attack on Israel that was judged “imminent.”.
Hizballah’s statement and confirmation by Russian sources of the type of drone operation suggest to DEBKAfile’s military sources that the first drone may have been an Israeli Harpy, which is designed to cruise over its target until ordered to conduct a kamikaze strike. The second drone that hovered overhead for 45 minutes appears to have been monitoring the operation and broadcasting video images of its outcome. before effecting self-destruct.
