Israel is justified in protecting itself against shipments of advanced weapons to the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, US President Barack Obama said Saturday. His comments to Telemundo television followed reports of an Israeli air strike in Syria, apparently targeting an arms shipment to Hezbollah. "The Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah," he said without commenting directly on the reported strike. oh/jm

Israel was silent on Saturday on US media reports that it launched new air strikes on Syria targeting a weapons shipment to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The Israeli military and spokesmen for the defence ministry and prime minister's office declined to comment on the reports. Israel and Hezbollah, a faithful ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, fought a devastating war in the summer of 2006. CNN television said US and Western intelligence agencies were reviewing information suggesting Israel conducted a strike overnight on Thursday.

Israel was tightlipped on Saturday following US media reports it had carried out an air strike on a Syrian weapons shipment headed for Shiite militant group and close Damascus ally Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon. But officials reiterated that they were monitoring any possible transfer of game-changing arms to Lebanon. CNN television said US and Western intelligence agencies were reviewing information suggesting Israel conducted the strike overnight on Thursday, as Israel was flying many warplanes over Lebanon and without entering Syrian airspace.

The Israeli air force on Thursday shot down a drone from Lebanon off the northern coast of Israel in an incident described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "extremely grave." It was the second such incident in less than seven months, and Israel's deputy defence minister putting the blame squarely on Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement which had said it was behind a previous drone infiltration on October 7. Hezbollah's television channel Al-Manar said on Thursday the group "denies sending any unmanned drone towards occupied Palestine," without elaborating.