Netanyahu: Drone shot down earlier this week was Iranian UAV armed with explosives

By Judah Ari Gross 20 May 2021, 3:50 pm 1 Edit

Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shows visiting German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas fragments of a drone that Israel says was launched by Iran toward northern Israel, which was brought down by the Israeli military, on May 20, 2021. (Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas that a drone downed by the Israel Defense Forces earlier this week was an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle armed with explosives.

The IDF until now has largely remained mum on the incident, in which the UAV was brought down as it approached Israeli airspace near the city of Beit Shean.

According to Netanyahu, the drone was made by Iran and launched toward Israel from either Syria or Iraq.

This would be the second time that Iran has sent armed UAVs into Israel.

In a similar case in 2018, a drone was flown from Syria into northern Israel before it was shot down by an Israeli helicopter.

In response, the IDF launched a wave of strikes on Iranian assets in Syria.