IDF downs drone smuggling guns from Egypt, seizes weapons
Failed smuggling attempt one of several of past few weeks; recent months have seen IDF also down drones flying items from Israel to Gaza, as well as strike suspects on Gazan side
The military foiled an attempt to smuggle four assault rifles into Israel from Egypt Tuesday using a drone.
The IDF said troops identified the drone as it crossed the border from Egypt into Israel, then proceeded to bring it down. The drone and the guns it was carrying were handed over to police for further investigation.
In recent months, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Egyptian border using drones.
A few weeks ago, on March 25, the IDF’s Home Front Command downed a drone carrying 50 kilograms (110 lbs) of drugs into the country.
There have also been attempts to smuggle contraband from Israel into Gaza through the air, with suspects on the Israeli side loading up drones with weapons or drugs and flying them over the border. The IDF has responded to several of these attempts with airstrikes in Gaza.
In February, the IDF carried out an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting a group of suspects who took possession of a drone used in a smuggling attempt. Palestinian media reported several dead and wounded in the strike.
That same month, the IDF carried out a strike in Rafah targeting two suspects who had gone to retrieve a drone flown in from Israel. One of the smugglers was killed, while the second was wounded, Palestinian media reported at the time.
In addition to drugs, police last month voiced their belief that smugglers in southern Israel were making use of heavy-duty drones to spirit in exotic animals — monkeys and lion cubs — by way of Jordan and Egypt. Numerous animals have been found by police during raids in recent weeks.
The Times of Israel Community.