The report was initially printed by the German daily Der Tagesspiegel, which quoted a German official telling a parliamentary committee that two Israeli F-16s had flown low over a German ship and fired two shots past it. The official also said the F-16s used infra-red flares, part of their anti-missile systems, to protect the planes from being shot down.
It is unclear whether the German ship may have fired at the planes first, making good on French threats to shoot down Israeli planes if they continue to fly over Lebanon.
The IDF spokesman's office explained that a helicopter had taken off from the German vessel toward Rosh HaNikra, Israel's northern coastal tip. The helicopter had not identified itself according to protocol and the F-16s were therefore called into action, though they fired no shots.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz spoke with German Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung Wednesday and told him that Israel did not fire any shots at any German ships.
Germany took command of the UN Navy operating off Lebanon’s coast just over a week ago. Eight German ships and 1,000 German soldiers are taking part in the force, whose mandate is to prevent Hizbullah from smuggling weapons into Lebanon by sea.