A drone launched by the Hamas terrorist organization out of the Gaza Strip, which it controls, crash landed in Israel today.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was under surveillance by the Israeli military during its roughly 40 minute flight, before it crash landed on the Israeli side of the Gaza border fence.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
Hamas took official responsibility for it. A spokesman for the group said, “We launched several unmanned aerial vehicles to perform special tasks deep within Israel.”
Much has been written about the use of drones by the United States in its ongoing war against terrorist organizations in the Middle East. Some people criticize the fact that the use of UAVs has led to innocent civilians getting killed in the air strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. But terrorists groups like Hamas certainly have no qualms about harming civilians or what some call “collateral damage.”
It has been known for some time that Hamas has drones at its disposal. And so does Hezbollah, to the north of Israel in Lebanon. Both have bragged about using them for areal reconnaissance within Israel. But they can also be fitted with weapons and can be small enough to go undetected until it is too late. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense, which has proven effective at shooting down missiles and rockets, cannot intercept small devices such as drones.
The drones are also much cheaper to use and produce than other surveillance devices. Hamas does not hide its use of UAVs and can probably afford the loss of this one.