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Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Israeli Army vehicles and helicopters are seen in an open area as they search for the remains of a drone in the Negev southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Yehuda Lachiani) ISRAEL OUT

Israel scrambled fighter jets to intercept a drone Saturday that crossed deep into Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, shooting the aircraft down over the country's southern desert, the military said.

The incident marked the first time in at least six years that a hostile aircraft has penetrated Israel's airspace, and Israeli officials said they were taking the incident seriously, raising the possibility of retaliatory action.

It was not immediately clear who launched the drone, but suspicion quickly fell on the Lebanese Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

The Iranian-backed group is known to have sent drones into Israeli airspace on several previous occasions.

Tensions are running high between Iran and Israel over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West believes is cover for the development of atomic weapons.

The Islamic Republic denies the allegations, and says its program is for peaceful purposes only. Israel has threatened to carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent Iran from acquiring such weapons.

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said Israeli ground systems detected the drone, which flew over the Gaza Strip but did not originate there, Saturday morning. They alerted the air force, which scrambled the jets to intercept the aircraft. She said Israel was still trying to determine where the drone took off from.

Leibovich said Israeli jets downed the drone near near the Yatir Forrest close to the West Bank, after it had spent about 20 minutes in Israeli air space.

Leibovich did not give more details, but Israel media reported that the aircraft was not carrying explosives and that it could have been a surveillance drone.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement that Israel views "this incident of attempting to enter Israeli airspace very severely and we will consider our response later," while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel "will continue to defend our borders in the sea, on the land and in the air for the security of the citizens of Israel."