Israeli forces 'fire at civilian plane flying over West Bank after mistaking it for a drone'

Published: 14:36, 29 May 2026 | Updated: 14:37, 29 May 2026 Israeli forces may have fired at a civilian plane over the occupied West Bank after mistaking it for a drone, it is suspected. The incident occurred when troops were sent to monitor the area following reports from residents of the Beit El area who feared there could be drones flying overhead. One of the troops opened fire before it later emerged that the flight path for planes arriving at Ben Gurion Airport was moved eastward, causing planes to fly low over the area. The Israel Defense Forces are also investigating the possibility that it was a police drone which prompted the concerns.  There have been no injuries or damage reported.   It comes after Israel escalated its operations against the militant group Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon in recent days.  In a video statement, Netanyahu said he had directed 'an even greater intensification of our operations' against the group. He accused Hezbollah of escalating its use of drones in attacks, including systems he described as fibre optic-controlled. Israeli forces may have fired at a civilian plane after mistaking it for a drone. Pictured: An Israeli tank and soldiers next to it moments before being hit by an FPV drone in April, in Taybeh, Lebanon 'We will intensify our strikes, increase our firepower and crush them,' he said, adding that Israeli forces were working to develop countermeasures to neutralise the threat. The move follows months of fire along the Litani river, where both sides have reported strikes. The army has struggled to fend off attacks on troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel by Hezbollah's drones. Many of the first-person view (FPV) drones are guided by fiber-optic cables, which are fully resistant to blocking frequencies and being used increasingly by the terror group.  Israel's military on Wednesday declared a new swathe of southern ‌Lebanon as a combat zone and said residents in the area should move north, warning it would act 'with great force' against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in the zone. The military's statement, posted on X, appeared to signal further escalation after more than 120 strikes on Tuesday hit Lebanon's south and east, despite a ceasefire announced ​on April 16. 'We advise residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas ​south of the river are considered a combat zone,' an Israeli military spokesperson posted on X. The Zahrani ⁠River runs east to west about 25 miles north of Israel's border with Lebanon, and the Lebanese territory south of it covers ​about 2,000 square kilometres. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.