LEBANON, Nov 7: Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah said on Sunday it flew an unmanned spy plane over northern Israel on Sunday, marking a new development in the low-level cross-border conflict.

Hezbollah said the move was in retaliation for repeated violations of Lebanese airspace by Israel which it branded "Zionist attacks on Lebanese sovereignty," and warned of more such flights.

"A Mirsad-1 reconnaissance plane from the Islamic Resistance (the group's armed wing) overflew airspace in northern Palestine... and overflew a large number of Zionist settlements up to Nahariya, before returning to base safe and sound," Hezbollah said in a statement. The Israeli army confirmed the flight.

"This morning, an Iranian UAV (unmanned air vehicle) operated by the Hezbollah terror organization infiltrated into Israel over the western Galilee," it said in a statement.

The drone later crashed in southern Lebanon, military sources said.

The army said the incident was "further evidence of the lack of control of the Lebanese government over activities carried out from within its territory, something which may cause harm to Lebanon and its citizens".

The military said the Jewish state "views gravely any infiltration into its sovereign territory from the air, sea or by land, and will act to ensure the security of its citizens."

Israeli air force jets regularly fly over Lebanon, across the Blue Line drawn between the two countries after Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Just last week the United Nations office in Beirut raised its concerns over a a number of violations of Lebanese airspace by Israel.-AFP