IDF strikes 2 Palestinians in Gaza allegedly picking up a drone flown from Israel
UAV, apparently used by smugglers, was tracked as it flew into Palestinian enclave’s south; IAF drone hits men as they try to retrieve it
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it carried out an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Rafah Wednesday morning, saying it targeted two suspects who had gone to pick up a drone.
The drone had been flown from Israel into the southern Gaza Strip, and was being tracked throughout its flight, the military said. In recent months, the IDF noted, it has identified several attempts to smuggle weapons and drugs into Gaza using drones. The drone was apparently being controlled by smugglers on the Israeli side.
After the drone landed in Gaza, an Israeli drone struck it along with the two suspects who had taken possession of it. One was killed and the second was wounded, according to Palestinian media.
The Israeli Air Force carried out the strike using a Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle.
The incident came as tensions in a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas reached a snapping point after the Palestinian terror group said it would not make good on the next stage of the truce, alleging Israeli violations.
The three-stage ceasefire agreement, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, when it led thousands of terrorists to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
The deal in its entirety requires Hamas to release all its hostages and Israel to release thousands of Palestinian security prisoners — including hundreds serving life sentences — and halt the fighting in the Strip, followed by negotiations for a “sustainable calm” and IDF withdrawal from the enclave.
However, Hamas said on Monday that it would not release the next batch of prisoners, scheduled for Saturday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that if Hamas doesn’t release the hostages by noon Saturday, the ceasefire will be over and Israel will resume fighting in Gaza.
“The IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” he declared.
Hamas has cited continued Israeli airstrikes as a violation of the ceasefire. Israel has repeatedly said it will determinedly enforce the terms of the ceasefire and has used drone strikes in the past to achieve that goal.
