President Michel Aoun said on Monday that Lebanon had a right to defend itself, likening Israeli drone strikes to a "declaration of war" amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.

Earlier Sunday, an Israeli drone was brought down over the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut, while a second one exploded in the air, causing severe damage to a media center belonging to Hezbollah.

Aoun discussed the "Israeli assault" with the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, on Monday. Aoun told Kubis the attacks in the Dahyeh suburbs and in the Bekaa violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the July 2006 war.

Israel's military said its northern command was on high alert at the borders with Syria and Lebanon and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri urged diplomats to help prevent a "dangerous escalation."

The Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah responded to these two incidents on Sunday, that his fighters will bring down any Israeli drone that violates Lebanese airspace, as local TV Channel Al Manar reported.

"Since the Israeli war against Lebanon in 2006, we managed to avert drones that enter Lebanon's skies. We did so because we did not want to be accused of impacting Lebanon's economy and tourism," said Nasrallah in a televised speech.

"If we do not respond to this violation, it will simply happen over and over again similar to the scenario taking place in Iraq," he explained.

These two attacks on Sunday are the first clear Israeli attack against Lebanon since 2006.

The 2006 war killed nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in Lebanon and 158 people in Israel, mostly soldiers.

UN Resolution 1701, which halted the war, banned all unauthorized weapons between the Litani River in south Lebanon and the UN-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon.

'Blatant violation'

Hariri told ambassadors from the UN Security Council's five permanent members that the international community should reject Israel’s "blatant violation."

Hezbollah said on Monday the two "rigged drones" were sent to cause blasts in Beirut's suburbs, with the first failing and the other exploding. Its statement said experts had taken apart the first drone and found it was carrying a bomb that weighed 5.5 kg.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said his country remained vigilant about the possibility of a Hezbollah attack under orders from its regional arch-foe Iran.

"Undoubtedly, the situation is tense. One does not know what a new day will bring," Steinitz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, said in a video interview with Israel’s YNet news website.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said he spoke on Monday with Netanyahu and reiterated U.S. support for Israel.

Also at the weekend, Israeli air strikes killed two Lebanese Hezbollah fighters in Syria, where Hezbollah and Tehran are providing military support to Damascus.

Israel, alarmed by Tehran's rising influence in Syria, says its air force has struck what it deems Iranian targets or Hezbollah arms transfers hundreds of times.

Netanyahu has hinted at possible Israeli involvement in attacks against Iran-linked targets in Iraq too.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)

(Cover: An Israeli army's Skylark I (Rochev Shamayim) unmanned drone aircraft used for monitoring purposes flies along the border between Israel and Lebanon, April 21, 2014. /VCG Photo)