Friday's incident came hours after Israel bombarded Lebanon following the rocket fire that the army blamed on Palestinian militants.

An army statement said "soldiers identified and downed a drone crossing from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory towards the town of Zarit".

It added that the military would "continue to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty".

The Israeli occupation army's pre-dawn strike into southern Lebanon was in response to more than 30 rockets fired from Lebanon on Thursday.

It was the biggest escalation between the two countries -- technically still at war -- since Israel fought a 34-day conflict with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in 2006.

Israel's military also targeted infrastructure of the ruling Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The violence came amid an upsurge in tensions during Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious holidays.

It follows the storming early Wednesday by Israeli riot police of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest site.