Lebanon’s Aoun says Israeli drone strikes like ‘a declaration of war’

BEIRUT- Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Monday his country had a right to defend itself after Israeli drone strikes that were like a “declaration of war.”

“What happened was similar to a declaration of war which allows us to resort to our right to defending our sovereignty,” Aoun’s office quoted him as saying on Twitter.

Two drones crashed early on Sunday in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which are dominated by Hezbollah, prompting the Iran-backed movement to warn Israeli soldiers at the border to await a response.

Aoun met U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis on Monday to discuss “the latest developments,” the president’s office said on Twitter.

Separately, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri met Lebanon’s interior and defense ministers and with the army chief on Monday to discuss security issues, his office said, though it gave no further details.

Hariri, who has said the drones aimed to stir up regional tensions, is also due to meet the ambassadors of the U.N. Security Council’s five permanent members, his office said.

Israeli drone strikes hit a military position belonging to a Palestinian faction in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley early on Monday, the group said.

Although Israel has not claimed the Beirut attack, Nasrallah said it was the first Israeli attack inside Lebanon since the two sides fought a deadly month-long war in 2006.