Israeli Energy Ministry tried to hide news on Hezbollah Karish UAVs

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The Israeli Ministry of Energy tried to exert pressure to prevent the publication of news on Hezbollah launching drones into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to protect "Tel Aviv's" economic interests, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

The Israeli Globes website had reported earlier that Energean, the oil company drilling in the Karish gas field, had scored major losses outside of the "Tel Aviv" 35 index, falling 6.58%. The firm's stocks even dipped 2.55% on the "Tel Aviv" index just days after the resistance's reconnaissance operation.

The stock prices continued to fall amid attempts to stabilize prices as the firm's holders tried to sell away their shares, Israeli commentators said.

Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah had released a statement revealing that it sent out three UAVs on a recon mission over the Karish gas field before they were shot down by the Israeli occupation forces.

Israeli occupation forces had announced that they shot down the three UAVs off the Mediterranean coast. One of the UAVs was downed by an F16 fighter jet, and the other two by Barak missiles launched from the Saar 5 Class Corvette, according to a statement by the IOF.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah recently threatened the Israeli occupation over its attempts to forcibly extract gas from the contested region, saying the resistance is prepared to prevent them from infringing on Lebanese sovereignty.

The Israeli Israel Hayom newspaper reported that the Israeli occupation forces made no announcement regarding an operation that took place last week that saw the IOF downing a Hezbollah UAV on June 29.

The IOF only announced Wednesday that it had downed a drone launched by Hezbollah headed for the Mediterranean Sea a week ago hours after Lebanese media reported on the incident.

The IOF claimed that the UAV taken down last Wednesday was intercepted "at a great distance from the maritime border".

The statement released by the Israeli occupation forces confirmed a report by the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper earlier in the day.

"The drones that were launched last Saturday were not the first operation, but were preceded by another operation on Wednesday," the report read.

Israel Hayom said the IOF did not report on the incident due to "Tel Aviv" wanting to "preserve space of ambiguity with Hezbollah" and because they were unsure that the UAV was shot down by Israeli means. "The decision was changed after Lebanese media reported on the incident."

A preliminary Israeli occupation forces investigation revealed that the IOF air force pilots faced difficulty in downing one of Hezbollah's UAVs sent out on Saturday, Israeli news website Walla reported.

The IOF investigation report also revealed that the Israeli pilots failed to track the second Hezbollah drone that was launched at the Karish platform before the drone was downed using a Barak missile from the Saar 5 Class Corvette.