Tel Aviv, Nov 3 (IANS): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it shot down a surface-to-surface missile fired from Lebanon by the Iran-backed militant group, Hezbollah amid simmering cross-border tensions in the wake of the raging war in Gaza.

In a statement on Thursday night, the military said the missile was launched at an IDF tank but was shot down.

The Israel Air Force later attacked the source of the missile launch and also the centre that carried out the attack, it added.

Earlier on Thursday, the Hezbollah militant group had claimed to have "directly" shot down an Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile as it flew between the border villages of Al-Malikiyah and Hunin in southern Lebanon, reports CNN.

This was the second time in a week that Hezbollah claimed to shoot down an Israeli drone.

Escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border began when Hezbollah fired multiple rockets on October 8 toward Israeli military sites in support of the Hamas's surprise attack on the Jewish nation on October 7.

In response, the Israeli forces fired heavy artillery on southeastern Lebanon on the same day.

As the Israeli forces have vowed o eradicate all the Hamas terrorists holed up in Gaza Strip, the Hezbollah is trying to attack Israel from Lebanon and other areas of West Bank to open a multi pronged war.

But Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has clearly said that the IDF was ready for a multi-pronged war.

On Thursday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanahu announced that the IDF have encircled the Gaza City and will enter soon.